USTA MISSOURI VALLEY FEATURES

USTA St. Louis feature on Shaan Patel, who is Asian Indian

USTA St. Louis standout Shaan Patel has made waves as one of the premier prep players in the St. Louis area and USTA Missouri Valley section. But it’s his integrity, character and positive disposition — both on the tennis court and off it — that has earned him recognition multiple times over in the form of sportsmanship accolades.

Patel, in the midst of his freshman season at John Burroughs School, earned the 2022 Boys 14s Junior Sportsmanship Award from both USTA St. Louis and USTA Missouri Valley. He picked up a sportsmanship award for the Boys 14s Spring Team in March 2022, and he received the Tom Patterson Sportsmanship Award at the 2022 USTA Boys 14s Indoor National Championships.

“He has so much respect for the game itself,” his mother Punita Patel said. Punita noted Rafael Nadal, whose stellar sportsmanship is likewise well-documented, is one of Shaan’s favorite players.

Click here to read this article about Shaan’s mother, a doctor who recently performed CPR at an L4 junior tournament saving the life of a tennis pro.

Side note: please read this article about Shaan’s mother, a doctor who recently performed CPR at an L4 junior tournament saving the life of a tennis pro https://www.usta.com/en/home/stay-current/missourivalley/examining-heart-health-and-t he-importance-of-cpr html#tab=tournaments

USTA Iowa feature on Jyun-Yi (Nicole) Lee who is Taiwanese

Jyun-Yi (Nicole) Lee came all the way to Des Moines, Iowa, from Taipei, Taiwan, to play tennis at Drake University.

Lee started playing tennis around the age of six, when her older brother wanted to play and they were both able to take some private lessons. She said tennis is not a common sport in Taiwan. Lee said she hopes months like Asian American and Pacific Islanders Heritage Month bring awareness to different cultural groups. She is the only student at Drake who is Taiwanese.

“Being an Asian, I find myself in a minority group at school because Drake does not have that much Asian,” she said. “Therefore, it is important to recognize and understand different cultures during this month.

USTA St. Louis feature on Jon Tchen, who is Vietnamese-Chinese

Jon Tchen’s two children, Sam and Rachel, wanted to give tennis a try when they were in junior high school. Instead of waiting for his daughters to begin taking lessons, Tchen — a self-starter who enjoys sports and is passionate about education — signed up for tennis lessons himself to in turn teach Sam and Rachel how to play.

In the process, Tchen fell in love with the sport and has been playing ever since. About 20 years later, Tchen competes in USTA St. Louis matches close to every other day year-round and serves as a team captain, too. Tchen has captained a USTA St. Louis 4.5-level Sunday men’s team for more than a decade. Additionally, he manages a Tuesday night league that combines competitors and captains from that Sunday offers.

“The main reason I want to do it is to get more players involved in wanting to play the game,” Tchen said. “Those who have the desire to play should be able to play. We want the game to grow. We want to make sure everybody who wants to play or is on the fence of wanting to play should play. And find a team to get involved with. It’s a wonderful platform to build relationships.”

Tchen was born in China and lived in both Mozambique and France. He grew up most of his life in Brazil before coming to the U.S. to attend Abilene Christian University in Texas. After graduating with a degree in medical technology, Tchen worked in a hospital for a couple of years and then went into medical sales. He took a medical sales job in St. Louis in 1985 and has owned a recruiting firm in the biotechnology/healthcare sector since 1997. The 63-year-old is married to his wife, Peggy.