A grand slam opportunity for MWTennis teen!
Daniel Island teen Maddy Bolig strung her racket, tightened her ponytail and stepped out onto the clay court in front of a crowd of 4000 tennis fans at the Volvo Car Open on Saturday night. As a student at MWTennis Academy on Daniel Island, Maddy has hit thousands of balls in her short tennis career. But this time was different. This time her serve was returned by one of her heroes, tennis legend Andy Roddick.
Maddy, 13, is a part of MWTennis Academy’s full-time student-athlete program in which she attends online academic classes while logging practice hours daily. She earned the opportunity to participate in the “Hit with the Pros” program by working hard throughout the year, explains her coach, MWTennis Academy co-founder Jeff Wilson.
“The Volvo Car Open offers several opportunities for our young players to shine,” says Wilson. “Whether being selected as ball girls or sparring partners for ranked professionals, athletes of all levels can earn the chance to be ambassadors for the sport through their positive attitudes, character and commitment.”
“Maddy embodies all of these traits,” Wilson says. “She earned this.”
“I was nervous at first,” Maddy admits. “But when I stepped out there, I tried to stay focused on playing my best. I surprised myself at how well I was able to hit.”
Maddy attended the tournament over the weekend with her grandfather, Jim Bolig, also a tennis enthusiast.
“We are so proud of Maddy,” Jim said smiling. “She’s a third generation player. We introduced her to the game at 10 years old and now she’s holding her own with the pros!”
The duo made an enthusiastic pair at the Volvo Car Open (VCO) “family weekend” festivities, when Jim joined the crowd in cheering on his granddaughter as she took to clay courts to volley with Roddick.
Roddick, John McEnroe, James Blake and Mark Philippoussis, were all on hand Saturday night as part of the VCO’s “PowerShares Series.” This event features four world-renowned tennis greats playing in two semi-finals with the two winners meeting in a championship match.
“How can I ever top this weekend?” asked Maddy, as she shined a supersize smile and held up her oversized tennis ball autographed by tennis royalty. “I don’t know, but I’ll keep working at it.”