MACON, Ga. — The Southern Tennis Foundation and USTA Southern welcomed Jaime Kaplan into the 2020 class of the Southern Tennis Hall of Fame, an honor this Maconite wasn’t expecting.
“It's such an incredible honor,” says Kaplan, “And a really neat evening with a lot of family and friends. Also, a lot of mentors there that I learned so much from over the years, like Randy Stevens, Mary Hatfield, Matt Olsen, Bobby Walker.”
For half a century, Kaplan has contributed to the game of tennis as a number 1-ranked amateur, undefeated high school singles and doubles career, and a star-studded student athlete at UGA and Florida State. She then transitioned into a 7-year pro, playing in 14 Grand Slam tournaments then retiring from the game as a player to becoming an 11-time high school championship coach with Stratford Academy, her alma mater.
Kaplan says, “It's 50 years of being involved with tennis, from playing, to coaching, to doing things administratively, and just giving back, and I’ve certainly gotten more out of this game than I’ve given back, so I plan to keep giving back, and it’s opened some wonderful opportunities for me over the years.”
This is not Kaplan’s first Hall of Fame induction. However, it's possibly the biggest one yet, joining the USTA Georgia Tennis, Georgia Sports, Macon Sports, and Stratford halls of fame.
“I just love representing Macon,” Kaplan explains. “For me, when I played on the tour, I loved to be somewhere in another country and see my name in the tennis results and see Macon, Georgia. This is quite an honor for a little girl from Macon, Georgia to dream of something like this.”
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