DELRAY BEACH — Thousands of tennis fans will stream into the Delray Beach Tennis Center starting Monday when the Delray Beach Open begins with its main draw dotted with big American names Taylor Fritz, Frances Tiafoe and Tommy Paul.
But the event got off to a soaring start along Atlantic Avenue after a weekend of tennis clinics designed for kids with Autism in the shadow of the big stadium.
On Sunday morning, the Florida Atlantic University women’s tennis team and rising American tour phenom, Alex Michelsen, worked with reps from “ACEing Autism”.
The founder/head tennis instructor is Richard Spurling, who played tennis at FAU from 1992 to 1996 and now lives in Los Angeles.
On Saturday, “Love Serving Autism” conducted its own Delray Beach Tennis Center clinic, branching out from its every-Saturday session at the Wellington Tennis Center.
There were plenty of high-fives, laughs, well-struck volleys and calories burned from the kids across the two mornings.
“”It feels good to give back,’’ said the 19-year-old Michelson, who lives in Southern California and has climbed to a 75th world ranking. “Even though they have a little disability, it shouldn’t stop them from playing tennis. It was a lot of fun to be out there.’’