Midwood tennis star meets Billie Jean King
A Midwood teenager was recognized for her outstanding tennis skills by the City Parks Foundation, which presented her with the Billie Jean King Award at its recent benefit dinner.
Maria Kogarova, 16, got the chance to meet King at the Aug. 26 event when she accepted the award named after the tennis legend. Kogarova, who began playing tennis with the foundation’s CityParks Tennis program in 2009, earned a spot in the foundation’s Junior Academy, an annual tournament-training program for experienced players held at the Billie Jean King Tennis Center in Queens, where the U.S. Open is played.
Kogarova is no stranger to the U.S. Open. When she was 10 years old, she was selected to perform an acappella rendition of “America the Beautiful” in front of 22,000 spectators in Arthur Ashe Stadium before the women’s semifinals.