Putting the ball in play
WHEN Audrey Simon begins her junior year in high school this summer, she will be able to add a new gig to her resume: that of US Open ball person.
“What excites me most is the opportunity to watch professional tennis matches and work on the courts these players compete on,” says the Tribeca 16-year-old.
Another highlight for this tennis player is that “my mother is also a ball person” — this will be her third year — “and we will possibly work together. She looked like she was having so much fun,” says Audrey.
Audrey recalls being anxious during tryouts, and calmed herself down by thinking “how everyone else trying out is probably nervous, and stressing about it won’t make anything better.”
Audrey, who hails from the Virgin Islands, is among the 275-member staff of ball people who will work the Open, which runs from Aug. 27 to Sept. 9 at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in Flushing. A total of 1,800 seasonal staff are hired by the United States Tennis Association to work in guest services, in the ticket office, as suite administrators, as locker room attendants, in the nursery for players’ children and in the fitness center. Individual vendors also hire their own staff separately for 7,000 contract workers overall.
Last year, more than 1,000 matches were played during the tournament encompassing singles main draw and qualifying rounds, doubles, mixed doubles, juniors and wheelchair. And considering approximately 70,000 tennis balls are used, having a keen eye on the court is key, and a coveted skill. Director of US Open Ball-persons Tina Taps sizes up the applicants during tryouts.
“In the initial tryouts, we’re looking for quick, agile, athletic individuals with great hands — no butterfingers,” says Taps.
Every year, Taps evaluates her crew’s performance, and in April, she invites the top ball people to return. “The deadline to confirm is May 1. About 40 percent of people return, so we hire 60 percent [of the] new people through Labor Day.”
That 60 percent was initially selected through a 10-to-15-minute audition of realistic drills in late June, including picking up balls and running to the net. That was followed by callbacks in mid-July; these second auditions lasted an hour. Top performers were chosen, and rookies attended orientation a few weeks later.
This year, all ball people — including veterans who have worked there more than 30 years — were trained on a new policy: rolling the ball, since they’ll no longer throw the ball down the court.
Ball people typically work 90 minutes on the court, then hydrate and rest off-court for 90 minutes. And they never talk to players.
“They do not engage with the pros unless the pros are engaging with them,” says Taps. “They’re doing a professional job. They’re really not to be seen. They do their job and get back in their corners. They’re unsung heroes on the court.”
Taps refers to her ball staff as family, and Jesse Smith concurs. Smith, 29, a former ball person who also worked several men’s finals and is now a tennis pro at the West Side Tennis Club in Forest Hills, says: “We all wish we could do this job forever. It’s not just because of the thrill of being on the court with the players, it’s because of the camaraderie you build with the people you work with. That’s what makes it special.”
That, and the intensity of the match. “It’s exhausting yet so exhilarating, so you aren’t tired, you can keep going, you want to be on the court, to do the extra match, to see it through to the end. That’s really the best part.”
David Konecky, USTA human resources manager, says the organization gives all workers uniforms and beverages to ensure everyone is hydrated, along with classroom training. The USTA partners with Disney to talk about guest services and operations, HR policies and procedures.
“Hours vary based on the job, and thousands of people apply,” says Konecky. “Some people take off three weeks from their full-time job; they like the environment. We have some peo- ple doing this for one or two years to build their resume. We have people who, frankly, just need a job during this time. There’s a very diverse pool of candidates.”
Entry-level roles start at $13 per hour for rookies like Simon, while supervisors get slightly more and area directors earn daily rates of around $300. Punching a clock hourly can add up to bigger bucks. “After a 40-hour workweek, it’s time and a half,” says Konecky.
The USTA also has 458 full-time employees among their Flushing, White Plains and Orlando, Fla. locations. In addition to pros who teach tennis, “We have a number of full-time employees, like a typical company — finance, HR, people in our programs office to sell programs, marketing and PR. If you’re interested in tennis, why not work in a sporting field that you love?” says Konecky.
Plus, “When someone starts here seasonally, there’s an opportunity to advance. Some people get promoted because of their quality of work. You never know what can happen.”
If you have ambitions to sit in the umpire’s chair, you’ll need to become a USTA certified official, which requires the completion of a variety of online modules and testing requirements, background and medical checks.
Umpires start at district and section community events including USTA-sanctioned tournaments, and then advance to Association of Tennis Professional events, Women’s Tennis Association events, Davis Cup, Fed Cup and Grand Slam tournaments. College-playing experience is not mandatory but is advantageous, since the USTA says that being able to understand a player’s emotions can be very useful.
Konecky emphasizes the level of Grand Slam tournament intensity and the adrenaline rush of servicing over 700,000 guests.
“When you come to something like this, and you’re part of something as large and as worldrenowned [as] an event like the US Open, it’s something that stays with you,” he says.
For more information on seasonal jobs, log on to USOpen.org. For jobs with the USTA, go to USTA.com.