Florida’s attributes prompt surge in women’s tennis stars
MIAMI, March 30 (UPI) -- Florida has long been known as a tennis factory, churning out elite women's players regularly. Many of those stars returned to compete in the ongoing Miami Open, and they credited the state's attributes for their rise to fame. "I always have really fond memories whenever I come back to Florida and play this tournament," Naomi Osaka told reporters last week in a Zoom video conference. Advertisement "I think playing on the public courts with my sister shaped me in the way that I was very tolerant just because we would play for hours on end." Osaka was born in Osaka, Japan, but moved to New York with her family at age 3. She later settled in Pembroke Pines, Fla., and tuned up her world-class game at Evert Tennis Academy in Boca Raton. Chris Evert, brother John and t...