Leon County’s Pia Lehtonen named USTA Florida Tennis Volunteer of the Month

If you’ve ever been to a USTA Florida tennis event in the Tallahassee area, then you’ve likely run into August Volunteer of the Month, Pia Lehtonen.

Lehtonen first got involved with USTA Florida in 2016, where she began captaining teams and leading them to sectionals in Leon County. She has captained multiple teams over the years, focusing mainly on the 8.0 Mixed league.

Pia Lehtonen has been helping in the USTA Florida space since 2016.

However, in 2017, Lehtonen wanted to get more involved with tennis in her local community, so she added volunteering to her life. Lehtonen started by becoming a Tallahassee Challenger Ball Kid Coordinator. This role gave her the experience and knowledge to become a board member for the Tallahassee Tennis Association (TTA).

“I regularly volunteer to assist at our local TTA tournaments. I help with coordinating round robins and maintaining our TTA bulletin board,” Lehtonen said. She loves to give back to her community and is constantly advocating to grow the game of tennis in Tallahassee.

While she still captains some teams in her spare time, Lehtonen also looks to recruit new ones as she believes it’s a great way to get involved with tennis in the community. She takes these newly established captains and mentors them, showing them that it’s not as scary as it may seem.

Lehtonen looks forward to continuing her involvement with USTA Florida on both the captain and volunteer side of things as time goes on.

USTA Florida thanks and congratulates Pia Lehtonen as the USTA Florida Volunteer of the Month for August 2022 as a volunteer and captain, organizing tennis and promoting positivity among the community in Leon County.

ABOUT PIA

Birthplace: Fitchburg, Mass.

Family Members: My daughter Hanna, son Danny, and dog Coconut

Favorite Movie: Bodyguard

Favorite Food: Pizza

Favorite Travel Spot: Anywhere with mountains

Favorite Shot: Forehand

My earliest tennis memory was… “Watching Wimbledon as a kid and deciding to celebrate with strawberries and cream while watching matches.”

If I could play tennis with three people, they would be… “Roger Federer, Serena Williams, and Stefan Edberg.”

When I’m not playing tennis I am… “Working full time and finishing raising two young adults as a single parent.”

My best tennis memory is… “Winning matches at sectionals, playing at the USTA National Campus, something I hope to do more of in the future.”

I like to volunteer in tennis because… “I know how it feels to be the new person and not know anyone. I want to make everyone feel welcome and foster an environment for everyone to have fun and improve their game.”

Interested in volunteering in tennis? Visit www.USTAFlorida.com/Volunteers to learn more about available opportunities.