The following was provided by Tennis:Europe to discuss its 2025 international travel/tennis opportunities. Be sure to check out our podcasts with Tennis:Europe as well!
Founding Director Dr. Martin Vinokur has announced his 51st summer of taking junior tennis players, 13-18, to European red claycourt tournaments from June 27 until July 13 or July 22. See his newly revised 2025 website at: www.tenniseurope.com or telephone: 203-322-9803. What separates him from others is his 50 years of experience, 5750 past participants and 400 past coaches.
Memories... The year was 1973 and Martin Vinokur was teaching European history and coaching tennis in Plainview, Long Island. One of his players, Bob Stein, suggested he take players to Europe to improve their match play and gain the claycourt skills By improving strategically and becoming mentally tougher, the team could become more competitive in their high school league. They set out their first summer with 5 players and competed in sanctioned tournaments in Holland, Germany, Austria and the UK. Tennis Magazine learned about their trip and featured Tennis: Europe in a 2 page article the following winter, after which he received a blizzard of inquiries about joining Tennis:Europe the next summer.
“Never did I imagine that 50 years later (2 years off for Covid), I would still be going,” says Dr. Vinokur. Besides becoming better tennis match players, past participants have told him how much this tennis travel improved their personal development and widened their horizons in life. Besides the challenging match play analyzed by certified tennis coaches, the juniors met and socialized with European teenagers, they gained an “insider” look at other cultures and practiced speaking various languages. All of which contributed to this unique major impact experience. RSPA Elite Pro Dr. Vinokur served as State Tennis Coordinator in New York for a decade and coached boys and girls school teams for 22 seasons.
Among the Tennis:Europe highlights over the years:
- First junior team to go behind the Iron Curtain to play in Romania in 1976
- Named by the State Department to put on a playing exhibition in 1992 at the Seville World’s Fair
- Also attending the 1992 Barcelona Olympics
- Had over 30 participants who later went onto the ATP and WTA pro tour
For summer 2025, Tennis:Europe will attend Wimbledon, play 4 tournaments in Prague, Barcelona and Holland or play Switzerland and Italy. Each team has 10 to 16 players at the school varsity or JV level and one team for highly ranked players. Two to three coaches per team, many college coaches or USPTA certified pros, along with Dr. Vinokur will accompany and strongly supervise.
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