Vania King

Happy ❤️

There are so many worthy causes out there - if interested, check out Serving Up Hope Asian American Pacific Islander Tennis Association Special Olympics WimBelemDon USTA Eastern Love Serving Autism WTA Foundation - all tennis focused and have made an impact on my life!

What an amazing few weeks at the US Open Tennis Championships! At the biggest Slam of the year, we celebrated great tennis and the AAPI community with Asian American Pacific Islander Tennis Association, and I got to see family and get back into the broadcasting booth! I’m happily exhausted and looking forward to next year’s Open already.

We did it! Ok no, we didn’t win the Wimbledon Invitational event, but we didn’t get (significantly) hurt and we had a ton of fun! So a win in our books!

Another wonderful opportunity to reconnect with friends and play on the same side as Slava again ❤️🍓🎾

Had a fun first round with Slava and it brings back great memories walking the hallowed grounds of Wimbledon 🍓🎾

Woohoo!! Slava and I are confirmed to be back playing together at the Wimbledon Invitational event! Worn bones, worn body, but happy memories and new expectations!

In addition to playing with Special Olympics athletes in Unified Tennis, I was able to participate in a panel focusing on women’s equity in sport, alongside esteemed female sport leaders such as Special Olympics CEO, Mary Davis, Vice President of Production at ESPN, Kate Byland, Olympic Gold medalist swimmer, Donna de Varona, and Special Olympics Cycling champion, Kiera Byland.

It was heartening to be surrounded by like-minded female representatives to discuss goal how to level the playing field for women and girls in sport.

I had a wonderful experience representing the WTA at the Special Olympics World Games held in Berlin, Germany. The skill and grace of the athletes are inspirational and remind me how sport is the great unifier. Plus, there was a small WTA player reunion!

Back at the public parks I grew up playing on to prepare for the trip across the pond in July - Slava and I will be playing in the Wimbledon Invitational Event again this year!

The extra long runway leading up to the event is to help achieve my goals, in order of importance:

1. Don’t get hurt 💪🏼
2. Have fun 💃🏽
3. Don’t get crushed 🫠
4. Win 😋

I was very excited to be on the Steve Cochran Show in Chicago, sharing about Serving Up Hope’s mission, programs, and ways to help! 🎾❤️

Wimbledon and U.S. Open Doubles Champion Vania King is "Serving Up Hope" for a better future through tennis Wimbledon and U.S. Open Doubles Champion Vania King and Serving Up Hope's Tammy Mitchell join the Steve Cochran Show to talk about setting up sustainable tennis & education programs for underprivileged children around the world, how anyone in the country can volunteer, and Vania shares memories

It’s our last day in Porto Alegre! Nico and I were here as Sports Envoys, a U.S. Department of State Sports Diplomacy - U.S. Department of State program, using sport as a tool to promote cross-cultural understanding, engage underserved communities, and empower the next generation of athletes as leaders through sport.

We met with local NGO’s, WimBelemDon, Dietze Tennis, and Fundação Tênis, participated in an Empowering Women Through Sports panel, and engaged in dialogue with the local NGOs, regional tennis association, and government officials to support a collaborative approach to using tennis as a vehicle for social change. Last but not least, we enjoyed Brazilian churrasco, samba, and plenty of caipirinhas!

Thank you to the Porto Alegre Consulate - Embaixada EUA Brasil / US Embassy Brazil for your wonderful hospitality and facilitation - I am warmed by the love and passion of the organizations we met and the children they help ❤️🎾

I was lucky enough to participate in the Special Olympics National Tennis Championships at the Pro Clinic, Opening Ceremony, Pro Exhibition, and my favorite — as a Unified partner!

Both WTA and PTR - Professional Tennis Registry - Official are partners with this amazing organization highlighting incredible athletes and thank you to Van Der Meer Tennis for hosting the event! Looking forward to being back next year.

Thank you Tennis Channel for highlighting Asian American Pacific Islander Tennis Association 🎾

My photos don’t reflect the full article, but I love the mention on the diversity of our founding members and am excited to be a part of this amazing group!

Really loving NYC lately! Besides attending the Gates Foundation Goalkeepers event, I supported friend and fellow Asian American Pacific Islander Tennis Association founder, Lopa Zielinski, being awarded as one of the 50 Outstanding Asian American’s in Business, as well as participated in a fireside chat for HSBC, to discuss championing internationalism, inclusivity, and leadership in the AAPI community.

Excited to be at the Gates Foundation Goalkeepers Event, representing the WTA, focused on tackling the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals. With speakers that are activists, presidents, and change makers, we are inspired to continue to strive for global equity.

It has been an honor to watch Serena as a child, to play on the same Fed Cup team as a 17 year old, to compete against her on the biggest stage of our sport (and bring Beyoncé and Jay-Z to watch me), and as 🐐 do, finish her career years after mine.

My father followed in the footsteps of Richard Williams, who brought up his daughters to succeed in a sport where they became trailblazers. He regularly reminded my sisters and I of their perseverance and used them as an example of what we might achieve.

I feel lucky that I was able to overlap with the best of the best and put my skills to the test against the one one who has transcended our sport.

I am excited to be a founding member of the Asian American Pacific Islander Tennis Association! We are a national nonprofit organization whose mission is to develop, grow, and elevate the visibility and interests of the AAPI tennis community.

Our founding members include current top 10 player and the highest ranked American, Jessie Pegula, 2022 Wimbledon Wheelchair Doubles Champion, Dana Mathewson, Head of Governance at HSBC North America, Lopa Zielinski, Managing Director of Private Banking Operations at Morgan Stanley, Perren Wong, Vice President at Tennis Channel, Andi Chu, Chief Tennis Officer of UTR, Stephen Amritraj, Chief Medical Officer of the US Open, Dr. Alexis Colvin, and Emmy award winning journalist, Michelle Wu.

Check out our website for more info on our founding members at AAPITA.org

We’d love for you to be a part of our journey, you can follow us on social media:

Twitter:
Facebook: Asian American Pacific Islander Tennis Association
Instagram:

We are looking forward to sharing more updates and plans soon!

Hanging out with Special Olympics athlete and Serving Up Hope
ambassador, Caroline O’Hara. Caroline, her mom, Anne, and I are helping to launch the newest Serving Up Hope program in Chicago!

Caroline is also an entrepreneur, founding Birdie Tweets, a business that makes, sells, and donates bird seed wreaths and ornaments.

Feeling at home in Uganda with Serving Up Hope - was there for our tournament (and post tournament on court dance party) and continuing to see the children’s growth and progress on and off the court is so special. Thanks to our team, the local and global tennis community, and all of our volunteers and donors for making this happen ❤️🎾

Excited to be on UBC TV (Uganda’s Public National Broadcaster) with Ugandan Tennis Association VP Dean Kibirige, to discuss the growth of tennis in Uganda and the impact of Serving Up Hope 🎙📺🎾

Slava and I at the Wimbledon Championships Dinner 🎾

What an incredible experience meeting Melinda Gates and participating in a roundtable discussion on female leadership and women’s health to commemorate the launch of a new partnership between WTA and the Gates Foundation.

Slower, sorer, and so much fun being back on court with Slava again 🍓🎾

📸: Arata Yamaoka

We’re back!! 🍓🎾

Honored to share the room with female leaders in sport for the Break the Love Title IX Women’s and Girls Launch for the Michelle Obama Tennis Center supported by Wilson Tennis and CELSIUS. I loved chatting with Taylor Townsend and Bi Nguyen about how sport has impacted their lives and as women, how we can continue to push for our collective value 💪🏼❤️

Plus, Taylor and I got a chance to break in the Center’s newly refurbished courts 🎾

📷: Jenna Lynn Photography

Bringing it back to Cali with a new Serving Up Hope program at the Anderson Munger Family YMCA with our partner YMCA of Metropolitan Los Angeles!

Thank you to Yonex Yonex Tennis for your amazing support and providing racquets for every participant 🤩🌴🎾

While we can’t relive our glory days, we can at least enjoy our time back on the hallowed grounds of Wimbledon as seniors, I mean Legends!

I’m super excited to get to reunite with Slava for this year’s Wimbledon Ladies Doubles Invitational event! Now I have to get back to training so I don’t hurt myself competing 💪🏼🎾

Hope you guys can make it out to the first annual SCTA AAPI celebration event!

Want to meet Grand Slam Doubles Champion, Vania King? Be sure to stop by our Community Cultural Event on Saturday at Lake Balboa Tennis Center from 12-3pm.

The first person who taught me women matter was my mother. As an immigrant, she had to leave her culture, language, and baby 7,000 miles away to build a better future for her family.

She taught my sisters and I that women are strong and capable—I never once doubted that women could ever be less than, if anything we can only be more.

To all the women out there that are tough, those with doubts, those working and those at home, the women who change the world publicly and those who change their world daily, you matter and you’re amazing.

Happy International Women’s Day! 💐🤩💪🏼

On this Valentine’s Day, I’m sending a love letter to Serving Up Hope 💝

If you’d like to join in the campaign, publish a post or story on why you support or love Serving Up Hope and tag Serving Up Hope 👯‍♀️

Dear Serving Up Hope,
You have helped me connect with so many wonderful people who love tennis and want to bring change to the world through children who need it most. I have learned so much about myself, am so grateful for my tennis family and community, and have been forever changed because of you.