Many tennagers spend their birthday partying with their friends or family.
Kyle Vukhac, a student at Horace Mann School in the Bronx who founded Second Serves, spent his 17th birthday hosting a tennis clinic for members of underserved communities. He gave away hundreds of tennis rackets and conducted free lessons Saturday on Roosevelt Island.
"Not everyone has the same opportunities," Vukhac said. "I really wanted to share them. I started Second Serves in order to help alleviate the financial burdens that tennis players face around the city."
Vukhac was inspired to start Second Serves after noticing the poor conditions of many New York City tennis courts.
"I started by cleaning up courts around the city," Vukhac said. "I really just tried to clean up as many courts as I could and it kind of grew from there."
Vukhac, a first-generation American whose father is from Vietnam, hopes that other kids can experience the same joy that he gets from tennis, and use the sport to become better individuals.
"It seems like a closed-off sport to a lot of kids. So they are pushed to team sports like football, baseball and soccer. They are great, but they do not have the same individuality that tennis does."