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“I was more excited than nervous.”
That’s how 10-year-old Alex Bianco described walking onto a US Open court Saturday to perform the ceremonial coin toss before the women’s wheelchair singles final.
Alex, a fifth grader from Wantagh who has been attending the tournament for years as a fan, was selected by the United States Tennis Association for the honor.
“The coolest part of the day was getting a chance to meet and take pictures with the players in the final,” she said. “Both of them are also Olympic gold medalists, so it was so much fun to be around such great players.”
The day came with another pretty big perk.
Alex was given tickets to the women’s singles final later that night, allowing her to stick around and watch Elena Rybakina win her first US Open title and become the world’s No. 1-ranked player.
Alex is a pretty good player herself, with one quirk that makes her game a little different: She’s right-handed but plays tennis left-handed, helping give her a particularly strong backhand.
She has participated in the USTA’s Net Generation program, which gives aspiring young players opportunities to become part of the US Open experience.
Through the program, Alex has gotten to take some practice swings on the tournament’s smaller courts over the past few years.
But she hopes those courts are just the beginning.
Alex has been playing tennis since kindergarten and takes weekly lessons at Carefree Tennis in Merrick, where the club calls her “one of our most promising juniors.”
She recently gave herself another reason to feel good about her game by winning her first tournament while playing against older kids.
“Alex wanted to test herself in a higher division, so she competed in the 12U bracket instead of the 10U bracket,” said her father, Paul Bianco. “We couldn’t be more proud.”
And if Alex gets her way, Saturday won’t be the last time she finds herself on a US Open court.
“Oh yeah, I would love to play in the US Open one day when I’m older,” she said with a smile. “That’s the goal.”
Top: Wantagh 10-year-old Alex Bianco took the court at the US Open for a ceremonial coin toss and hopes to return one day as a player. (Photos: Paul Bianco, courtesy)
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