What we owe to our country by Javier Palenque

One of the first things I teach my kids is that we have the moral obligation to leave our country a better place for the next generation. Of course, this means we as adults are doing our part in making sure this does happen. I firmly believe that a life well-lived serves others and helps those who for whatever reason do not have the same opportunities. I also believe that what unites us is being Americans, and we should all want a better America for our kids and theirs. I think it is important that we in the tennis community understand that we have the moral obligation to leave tennis in a better place than we received it for the generations that come. To do that a few things are needed:

• Intelligence
• Empathy
• A vision of the future
• Education

For the past few years, I have been trying to make sure that our governing body, the USTA, honors such obligation as they have the benefit of the non-profit status and they are the best-funded non-profit sports organization in the world. With those two advantages, I believe that we must do good by the sport for the benefit of all. Below you will find an article from supreme court justice Sonia Sotomayor and her views on what we owe future generations. I encourage you to read it, first as an American and then as a tennis citizen of this beloved United States. As a reference her salary is $260K, compare that to the salaries of the USTA’s middle managers? Makes you wonder what state we are going to…