United States of Tennis: Black Girls Tennis Club liberates Black women and girls both on and off the court

This week at the Rolex Shanghai Masters, Stefanos Tsitsipas traded some forehands for "Fore!" when the Greek star teed it up on the mini-golf course with LPGA golfer Hannah Green.

Green, a 27-year-old Aussie who won a major crown at the 2019 Women's PGA Championship, was in town for the Buick LPGA Shanghai, showed off her putting skills as she went head-to-head with Tsitsipas, whom she said she'd watched previously on the tennis court Down Under in Perth.

The pair played on a nine-hole course that's new for 2024 as one of the Masters 1000 event's player amenities, which was designed adjacent to the venue's player lounge by local artist Nancy K. Pon and designer G. T. Percha. The course replicates some of Shanghai's most famous sights.

"When I got the opportunity to come here to the Rolex Shanghai Masters, I was like, I have to come," Green, who confessed it had been six years since she'd last been to China, said. "It's cool to actually meet the players in person and see how tall they are, and how athletic they are."

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"I wanted to invite you because we've been practicing a lot this week as players," Tsitsipas joked with the world No. 7 in the LPGA rankings, "and I would like you to please join me and see how it goes for you."

It went well—for Green anyway: She left Tsitsipas incredulous with her deft abilities, once sinking a hole-in-one that drew raucous applause from the Greek.

"No one has been able to do that all week!" he said.

"Welcoming Hannah before her tournament here in Shanghai, is something exciting: having a pro like her showing us how it's done," Tsitsipas said.

Teasing that he shot 25-over-par on the small course, the two-time Grand Slam finalist said that, for now, putting on the greens is more difficult for him than putting away a swinging volley.

"We got very competitive," he continued. "I realized I'm not as good as I thought I was."