After acting as a ball boy at the 2017 U.S. Open, Schreiber ninth grader Kyle Sinett decided he had to take another swing at it. When his father told him the New York Open was taking place at NYCB Live, Home of the Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum Feb. 11 through 18, Sinett jumped at the chance to work with 28 of the best Association of Tennis Professional (ATP) singles players in the world and 16 top double teams.
“I just really enjoyed my experience at the U.S. Open and I realized I wanted to do it for more years to come,” said Sinett. “When my dad told me they were having a tournament at Nassau, I knew I had to try again. I contacted them three months before they were looking and when I asked to be a ball boy I told them I was a U.S. Open ball person and they said if you worked U.S. Open, you’re automatically in.”
Sinett explained he went through similar training to that of the U.S. Open, practicing drills to get ready for the NY Open, but instead of throwing the balls across the court, ball persons will bowl them like the Australian Open.
“I’m still a back ball person,” said Sinett. “At the U.S. Open I would get tips and advice from ball persons who had done it before so my role has kind of changed and I’ll be giving advice to people because this is their first tournament.”
Sinett said he is most excited to see John Isner because of his fast serve and hopes he won’t have difficulty catching them. Isner has won 12 career titles, including two 2017 ATP World Tour events, the BB and T Atlanta Open and the Hall of Fame Open in Newport, RI, with a finals win in Atlanta over 2017 Memphis Open winner Ryan Harrison. Isner made it to the semi-finals of the 2017 Paris Masters in November and will play his first match on Feb. 15 Session 8.
“It’s a cool experience being on the court with professional tennis players,” said Sinett. “I’ll keep ball boying until they tell me that I can’t.”
The NY Open is at NYCB Live, Home of the Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum located at 1255 Hempstead Tpke. in Uniondale. For tickets, visit www.nycblive.com/events/detail/new-york-open-2018.
For more information about the event, visit www.newyorkopen.com.
