The future Christina? How cute is this little aspiring tennis-playing gal? She joined some 200 kids from the New Haven area for a USTA 10 & Under tennis clinic, where American Christina McHale helped the youngsters with their form. Swinging Head racquets donated by First Niagra, the kids were treated to an afternoon of tennis and face painting (see below) at the “First Niagra Block Party.” The block party was held to help, in part, promote the New Haven Open at Yale, formerly the Pilot Pen. Set for the week before the U.S. Open, this final lead-up tournament will go from a men’s and women’s event to solely a WTA event as the men’s event has headed south to Winston-Salem, North Carolina.
The 19-year-old McHale, ranked no. 67, received a wild card into New Haven. The tournament already has commitments from world no. 1 and defending champ Caroline Wozniacki, along with former French Open champs Svetlana Kuznetsova and Francesca Schiavone and Russian Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova. Check out the full player list here.
More great images from the New Haven Open’s Block Party after the cut.
Want to go? Tickets for the New Haven Open, which runs August 18 to 27, can be found here.
TSF Vault: New Haven Open | Christina McHale
(Images courtesy of the New Haven Open via Steve Blazo/Blazo Photo)
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