NEW HAVEN, Conn. (WTNH) — A woman who was once a big part of Connecticut’s premiere tennis events has now reinvented herself in the fast growing sport of pickleball.
“It’s affordable and accessible. You could set up a pickleball court in your driveway, in the street,” said Anne Worcester.
Or in the iconic board room at the New York Stock Exchange, as was the case recently. Worcester was there to represent Major League Pickleball and help ring the opening bell.
For more than two decades, Worcester was a huge part of the Connecticut sports scene as tournament director of the Pilot Pen Tennis tournament, which was later rebranded as the Connecticut Open.
Worcester, a mother of two, once said the tennis tournament in New Haven was like her third child. She is now a part of something new and exciting, with the same passion she had for tennis and the Elm City. In her new role, she is a strategic advisor working with owners on business development.
Worcester was a big advocate for New Haven and the tournament annually meant $25-30 million to the Elm City in terms of its economic impact. The tournament is no longer, but the memories live on for Worcester.
“I’m most proud of how we leveraged… I’m most proud, it makes me emotional,” she said. “We turned so many kids onto tennis, all colors… all walks of life. We marketed New Haven, we put New Haven, Connecticut in an international limelight.”