Samantha Jacobs, a junior tennis player in New Jersey, had an incredible year of work for Second Serve. She comes from a tennis family, having played the sport alongside her siblings since the age of 3. Although 2022 has been a rough year for her, she still kept pushing for the best.

Samantha recently collected over 65 items from Courtsense at the Bogota and Tenafly Racket Club in NJ. Over the course of this year, she has completed an outstanding 286 community service hours, which will award her the gold medal of the Presidential Service Award for 2022. This award is a prestigious accomplishment to showcase devotion to others. Her determination for the sport has led her to serve on a greater level.

However, this year hasn’t been as great as it may seem. Jacobs has been battling COVID for over a year and a half now, so there has been a slowing stop to tournaments and tennis for her. All her motivation for the sport has stirred her to continue making a lasting impact on the game of tennis. Samantha says that while recovering from her illness, “I have put all my love and energy for the sport into helping underprivileged children worldwide”. She does this all in the hope that kids will love this fantastic sport and create friendships that will last a lifetime.

Through all the relentless obstacles, Samantha Jacobs has proved to be a prime example of what Second Serve’s mission is. Being a youth-run organization, Second Serve strives to help kids grow and love the sport of tennis, all while producing young leaders that will influence the sport and impact the world.

By Abigail Diamond