Dutch girls barred from US junior events

[TennisHack]

Visa status sidelines BR sisters
BY WILLIAM TAYLOR
Advocate staff writer

www.2theadvocate.com/stories/050805/new_visa001.shtml

The Koenen sisters excel on the tennis court.

Annemijn and Liselot, though only 13 and 11, play for Episcopal Baton Rouge's high school team and helped the girls squad score enough points to win a state title last week.

But they aren't always welcomed on the court.

Last year, after they both placed third in their age divisions in the Louisiana State Junior Qualifying Tournament, they learned they would be barred from advancing to the next level because they are foreign citizens with the wrong visas in the view of U.S. Tennis Association officials.

That's not fair, the Dutch citizens claim in a federal civil rights suit their mother, Irene Koenen, has filed on their behalf against the association and its regional and local affiliates.

But association officials said rules the suit seeks to change are vital to the organization's mission of identifying talent from this country.

"We have built a solid organized and competitive structure through our junior ranks to develop U.S. talent," explained Chris Widmaier, USTA senior director of public relations.

Rules banning foreign citizens are consistent with what's practiced by tennis associations around the world, he said.

"If I was a U.S. citizen living in France, there would be events that I wouldn't be eligible for," Widmaier said.

Girls such as the Koenens could get the competitive experience they need through tournaments the International Tennis Association sanctions in this country, he added.

The Koenens' attorney, Britt Miller of Chicago, said reasoning like that can't excuse civil rights violations.

"We are taking a position that this is discriminatory based on national origin," she said.

The USTA does allow some foreign competitors in its tournaments.

The children of diplomats, those seeking asylum in the United States and people pursuing citizenship or permanent residency with a green card can play.

Though the Koenens have lived in Baton Rouge since 2000 and have no plans for returning to the Netherlands anytime soon, they don't qualify because they aren't seeking citizenship or permanent residency.

The girls are here on their father's EB-2 visa, an employment-based permit for highly skilled or trained aliens.

Henk-Jan Koenen runs the DSM Copolymer Inc. rubber plant in Baton Rouge, Miller said.

The family's lawsuit also names the Southern Tennis Association, the Louisiana Tennis Association and the Greater Baton Rouge Tennis Association as defendants.

Miller has advised the Koenens against granting interviews at this point, because of the pending status of their case in U.S. District Court in Baton Rouge.

However, Peter Hawking, their coach at Episcopal, said he was happy to talk about two sisters who are "good kids" as well as good tennis players.

It's not unusual for the better middle school players to compete at the high school level, he said.

What is unusual is having them compete as well as the Koenen girls have, he said.

In singles play, Annemijn won the Division IV regional girls championship in April and made it to the finals at the state tournament in Slidell.

"Some people, if they have a really big match, they choke, but Annemijn has a tendency to be even more tenacious and hard to beat," the coach said.

Liselot and doubles partner Niki Hu made it to the regional semifinals and then the quarterfinals at state, Hawking added.

"For a sixth-grader, Liselot actually has a great game and maybe she has a more rounded game," the coach said. "She doesn't mind being at the net and playing doubles."

Both girls are likely candidates for college scholarships one day and could develop beyond that, Hawking predicted.

But they need and deserve a chance to get the experience that comes from matching up against the top talent in the USTA tournaments, he said.

"Without a doubt, tennis is a game you have to play every week, and the more tournaments, the better tennis player you are going to be, and the better the tournament, they better you are going to be," the coach said.

"You just hate to see kids excluded from something without any justification."

[TennisHack]

Sisters finally get OK to compete in game they love
By CHANTE DIONNE WARREN
[e-mail]
Advocate staff writer

2theadvocate.com/stories/092405/fea_teen001.shtml

Perhaps it would have been easier to accept being eliminated from their favorite sport because of an injury or an incident of misconduct on the court.

But it wasn't that at all.

Citizenship forced Dutch sisters Annemijn, 13, and Liselot Koenen, 12, who have lived in Baton Rouge for five years, out of competition in numerous national and regional tennis tournaments during the past year.

Their mother, Irene Koenen, hired a lawyer and filed a federal civil-rights suit against the United States Tennis Association and its regional and local affiliates to change things.

The case was eventually dismissed after the USTA granted the girls and their younger brother Jasper, 9, a waiver.

"In the beginning we thought we couldn't play and then we realized they've got to do something about it," Annemijn, a freshman at Episcopal High School, said. "I was at the top of my game, and I was placed on the sidelines."

Irene Koenen was eager to fight for her children's chances to play on a higher level.

"They couldn't take the next step and develop," Irene Koenen said. "We knew they had to get back into playing tougher tournaments."

At issue had been rules designed to help the association develop U.S. talent for eventual participation in Davis Cup and Olympic teams.

While many of its tournaments are open to all competitors, the association's most prestigious tournaments have been limited to U.S. citizens and foreign citizens in certain categories.

Those categories include children of diplomats, British Columbians and legal residents who have or have applied for green cards, registration cards that allow aliens to reside and be employed in the United States. By contrast, the Koenens are here on their father's EB-2 visa, an employment-based permit for highly skilled or trained aliens.

The association was concerned about the permanency of the family. The family has lived in Baton Rouge since 2000 and has no plans to leave the country anytime soon. Their visa has been renewed through 2009.

The family agreed to apply for a waiver under a new policy created in September 2004 after the girls began facing exclusion from various tournaments.

"It's a relief after everything that's happened," Annemijn said. "We are happy because if they didn't, we wouldn't be able to compete at those higher levels."

The sisters said they were not allowed to discuss the court case until recently, but now that it is over they can talk about it as well as play tennis.

The girls were among the state's top ranked players last year.

Annemijn ranked first in final state standings and second in the state out of 2A high schools last year. She was also named first in the USTA 14 and under category last year. Liselot ranks third in USTA standings this year. Last year Liselot competed with high school students and moved into the semifinals in regional 2A competition.

They each started playing at 2 and competing by age 8.

"A lot of people think it's a boring sport but for me, I'm playing for a reason. It's an individual sport," said Annemijn, who also earned a sponsorship for free tennis racquets, shoes and duffle bags.

They spent their early years hitting tennis balls against walls in their Holland home and a half hour practicing on a tennis court each week.

Because there were no organized sports programs in Holland schools and few places to practice, the girls had limited training experience.

Moving to Baton Rouge in 2000 turned things around for them. They've found plenty of tennis courts to practice on at the Country Club of Louisiana and at the YMCA Lamar Tennis Center.

"When we came here, we played much more and really got into tennis," said Liselot, a seventh-grader at Episcopal Middle School.

The girls travel several weekends out of the month to reach tournaments, though that number fell following the restrictions.

On the court, Annemijn and Liselot are different players. Annemijn described her game as aggressive and dominating. She likes to play singles games. "If you get me to the net, it's hard to pass me." she said.

Liselot takes more of an defensive approach -- and prefers to wait for opportunities to smash a ball at the net. She also likes to play doubles.

They watch the pros at U.S. Open tournaments to learn techniques. Their favorite players are Kim Clijsters, Lindsay Davenport and Andre Agassi.

When they moved to Baton Rouge, they faced a number of challenges including learning the English language and getting used to a longer school day. "We only knew 'yes or no,' " Annemijn said. "It took us a year to have a full conversation."

Attending American schools helped them adapt quickly.

"We didn't have a choice. They'd speak English, and we knew we couldn't keep asking them to repeat things over," Annemijn said.

Beside tennis, the sisters also play softball and swim in the summers, hang out in the malls with their friends, chat on the Internet and throw occasional supervised Friday night parties, they said.

They each want to play tennis on scholarship and become pros.