Tennis players and tennis lovers who attended the 2019 US Open Tennis Championships in Flushing Meadows, Queens, saw a highly visible Mount Sinai presence—on the courts, and beyond—during the three-week Fan Week and Tournament experience in August and September. Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai physicians, staff, and volunteers all helped to showcase the Mount Sinai Health System’s role as the event’s Official Medical Services Provider.
Physicians from the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai—including, from left, Melissa Leber, MD; Alexis Chiang Colvin, MD; James Gladstone, MD; and Carlos Benitez, MD, far right, were part of the US Open Player Medical Services team, providing medical expertise courtside. Dr. Colvin, Associate Director of Sports Medicine in the Leni and Peter W. May Department of Orthopedic Surgery, is also the Chief Medical Officer of the US Open and team physician to the US Fed Cup team. Dr. Gladstone is Chief of Sports Medicine for the Health System, and team physician to the US Davis Cup team. Dr. Benitez, Director of Musculoskeletal Imaging at Mount Sinai West and Mount Sinai St. Luke’s, oversaw radiologists who provided onsite diagnostic ultrasound and portable X-ray examinations to players. Dr. Leber is Assistant Professor of Orthopedics, and Emergency Medicine. Joining them courtside were Leesa M. Galatz, MD, Mount Sinai Professor in Orthopedics, and Chair of Orthopedic Surgery; and Michael R. Hausman, MD, Robert K. Lippman Professor of Orthopedic Surgery.
New this year—and a popular offering for patrons—were two kiosks, prominently placed on the grounds of the Billie Jean King National Tennis Center. They were staffed with Mount Sinai volunteers who handed out custom-labeled sunscreen and hand sanitizers. Over the course of three weeks, 91 volunteers distributed 58,000 1-oz bottles of branded sunscreen and 10,000 hand sanitizers to grateful fans.
On Arthur Ashe Kids’ Day, Mount Sinai hosted the “Mount Sinai Get Fit and Play” court, which offered physical and fun activities for young tennis enthusiasts, including 7-year-old Tyler Panetis, and distributed 1,300 cooling towels to those who worked up a sweat on a hot and sunny day.
Also at the US Open were 28 patients from the Department of Rehabilitation and Human Performance, who watched the US Open Wheelchair Competition, two of whom joined Richard “Woody” Wood, Outreach Program Coordinator for the Department, center, for a snapshot.
Six buses—brightly wrapped in a Mount Sinai logo and US Open banner—stood out amid the New York City traffic as they shuttled US Open players, staff, and other credential-holders between Manhattan and Flushing Meadows.