(NEWS) MIAMI, FL, United States, 2026-Aug-11 — /Travel PR News/ — Emirates, the USTA Foundation and the Sloane Stephens Foundation have unveiled newly refurbished tennis courts in Miami Gardens, expanding a community-focused tennis initiative designed to give more young people access to sport, education and personal development opportunities.
The project forms part of Emirates’ Force for Good court rejuvenation initiative, a U.S.-focused programme that supports court refurbishment and youth programming in under-resourced communities.
According to details released by Emirates, the airline contributed USD 500,000 to support the construction of one of two new courts at Buccaneer Park in Miami Gardens, while also funding programmes intended to benefit young people in the local community.
The courts have already supported approximately 1,000 students and young people from Miami Gardens, a community closely connected with Grand Slam champion and former World No. 3 Sloane Stephens.
For Emirates, the project sits at the intersection of sport, community investment and its long-standing relationship with tennis in the United States. The airline has been the Official Airline of the US Open since 2012 and is extending that association beyond professional tournaments into neighbourhood-level access.
The partnership with the USTA Foundation and the Sloane Stephens Foundation gives the initiative a clearer local purpose. Rather than focusing only on elite sport, the refurbished courts are intended to create a welcoming space where young people can play, learn, build confidence and engage with structured youth development programmes.
Sloane Stephens and Sybil Smith, Executive Director of the Sloane Stephens Foundation, said the new courts represent more than a place to play tennis. They described them as spaces where young people can develop life skills, form meaningful connections and imagine broader possibilities for their future.
That message reflects the wider mission of the Sloane Stephens Foundation, which uses sport as a catalyst for education, wellness, confidence-building and long-term opportunity. The organisation works with public school districts, municipalities and community partners, delivering programmes across areas including tennis, swimming, soccer, academic enrichment, workforce development and mental wellness.
The USTA Foundation brings a national youth development framework to the effort. As the philanthropic arm of the USTA, it supports tennis and education programmes for under-resourced youth through the National Junior Tennis & Learning network, while also providing grants and scholarships.
The Miami project is part of a broader multi-year commitment between Emirates and the USTA Foundation to expand access to tennis across the United States. Emirates has committed to continue funding additional projects over the next two years, with the aim of supporting more youth and families nationwide.
The community connection will also extend to the 2026 US Open. Six young players — two each from Miami Gardens, Kings County Tennis League and East Palo Alto Tennis and Tutoring — will take part in a VIP clinic on the Arthur Ashe Stadium court. The participants, selected by the USTA Foundation, will receive tennis guidance from a tennis legend and represent communities connected to past court rejuvenation projects.
For the young players involved, that kind of experience can carry a meaning that goes beyond a single day at a major tournament. It links local courts and after-school programmes with one of the sport’s most visible stages, showing how community tennis can create pathways to aspiration, discipline and recognition.
The initiative also reinforces the role that corporate sports partnerships can play when they move beyond sponsorship visibility. Court access, coaching, mentorship and education programmes can help turn a brand’s association with a major sporting event into something more tangible for local communities.
Emirates began flying to the United States in 2004 with services to New York JFK and now operates from 12 U.S. gateways, including Miami and Orlando in Florida. Its U.S. network also includes Boston, Houston, Chicago, Washington, D.C., Seattle, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Newark, Dallas and New York JFK.
In Miami Gardens, however, the airline’s presence is being felt away from the airport and far from the aircraft cabin. Through Force for Good, its tennis investment is helping create a place where young people can play, learn and grow.
For the community, the value of the project is immediate: two renewed courts, expanded programming and greater access to a sport that can teach far more than technique. For Emirates and its partners, it is a reminder that tennis can be both a global stage and a neighbourhood opportunity.
