ONcourt Interview: Kai Broomfield

January 11, 2013

Kai Broomfield: Ah! Ah! I am now entering my second year at Marshall University which is located in Huntington, West Virginia and of course I am on a tennis scholarship. The reason I did not play for two years was a series of injuries which made it impossible for me to compete. First it was my wrist, then I started training and had to step away with an ankle injury.

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*** Kai Broomfield, 18, was part of the Canadian junior tennis landscape for years, winning the U14 Canadian outdoor nationals before disappearing from the competitive scene. We caught up with her at the recent $9000 Canadian Indoor Championships where she was watching her younger sister Ayan compete. ***

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ONcourt: Literally, where have you been?

Kai Broomfield:Ah! Ah! I am now entering my second year at Marshall University which is located in Huntington, West Virginia and of course I am on a tennis scholarship. The reason I did not play for two years was a series of injuries which made it impossible for me to compete. First it was my wrist, then I started training and had to step away with an ankle injury.

ONcourt: Did you ever think of quitting tennis during your injuries?

KB: Oh no! the only problem was what to do with my time. I was so used to being on the court all the time. I did take the time to really catch up on my studies.

ONcourt: Are you injury free now?

KB: Thank goodness yes.

ONcourt: How’s Marshall?

KB: I love it, it is really great for tennis. The coach John Mercer is very enthusiastic about developing players and he was one of the reasons I selected Marshall. His whole family [three kids] are also tennis players so it’s a family affair.

ONcourt: What are you majoring in?

KB: I am majoring in Bio because I would like to become an orthodontist.

ONcourt: Your sister Ayan has become quite a good player, might she follow you to Marshall?

KB: I do not think so, because she is “California Dreaming”. She really wants to go there.

ONcourt: Tennis has been a huge part of your life, what are you thankful for?

KB: First of all it has given the opportunity of a free education and has given me so many great life opportunities

ONcourt: Would you do it all over again?

KB: Yes, definitely.

A New Reality By Nicolas Pereira

August 9, 2020

This past week in the World Team Tennis ‘Bubble” I have seen the efforts to keep everyone safe while carrying on a team competition with around 60/70 players and coaches onsite. Counting organizers, officials, media, and support personnel are around 150 people trying hard to make this happen. I am very impressed by how the strict protocol has been handled and how everyone is invested in making this event a success, but The Open is a completely different scale of details.

ONcourt Interviews NGTL Co-Founder Yves Boulais

July 30, 2020

It does not matter that you get your rating playing locally or that you had spent an insidious amount of money playing the ITF junior tour tournaments. Your rating is your level of play (you get no bonus for playing more or playing far away). This allows us to break free of the ITF competitive structure potentially saving us time, money, and headache. We see this as a great opportunity to improve the logistic of our sport.

Brandon Burke (son of ACE President Doug Burke) Elected to WTA Board

July 8, 2020

As revealed in a recent news release issued by the WTA Tour – Brandon Burke has been elected to the WTA Board of Directors (to start officially in September). Oncourt got together with Brandon to delve a bit more into his background and to gain some insight into this wonderful appointment he has attained at such a young age.