Former NCAA Tennis Champ Ayan Broomfield Is Bringing Inclusivity Courtside

Ayan’s Aces is fostering diversity in the stands of major tournaments, including the US Open.

Venus Williams serves at the US Open / Ishika Samant/Getty Images

Growing up, athlete Ayan Broomfield played basketball and ran track, but at the age of 10, she approached her father and told him she wanted to dedicate her life to the sport of tennis. She has had a tennis racket in hand for nearly two decades, starting off as a Canadian junior before attending UCLA, where she earned her status as the NCAA doubles champion in 2019. And now, Broomfield has dedicated her career to making the sport of tennis more inclusive.

Over the last several years, Broomfield has been traveling with her partner, pro tennis player Frances Tiafoe, and in doing so, noticed a discrepancy between the representation of Black women on the court versus in the stands at major tournaments.

“ I would go to tournaments and really be the only woman of color there,” Broomfield tells SI Swimsuit. “I remember earlier this year, I genuinely felt like this was something that needed to be changed. I think that there’s a lot of women of color that want to come to tennis or just didn’t have the accessibility. So I did what most millennials do: I went on social media to see if there were more people that maybe didn’t know about the event or didn’t know about the tournament, and I had this wave of women come to me and say, ‘We didn’t even know what was going on. We didn’t know how to get into the event. We didn’t know that we felt like we could belong there. And I definitely took that as inspiration to start Ayan’s Aces.”

Creating Ayan’s Aces

Using her knowledge of the sport and her vast network, Broomfield created Ayan’s Aces earlier this year with the goal of bringing diversity to the stands of tennis events around the globe. Ayan’s Aces made its debut at the Miami Open in March, where Broomfield brought more than 100 Black women and influencers to the tournament held at Hard Rock Stadium.

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Since then, the organization has brought nearly 500 Black women to the stands of major tennis tournaments, including the D.C. Open and Toronto Open. In addition to securing tickets to give away at each event, Ayan’s Aces partners with brands like Lacoste and Cadillac to curate influencer suites at each tournament to increase visibility. It’s the opportunity she has to connect face-to-face with women at each event that has been the most impactful part of Ayan’s Aces thus far, Broomfield says.

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 “Sometimes I see girls coming together as a group. Sometimes it’s mother and daughter, sometimes it’s grandmother and daughter, and just hearing how they really loved the experience and they were really grateful for that, it really makes my heart warm and full,” she shares. “That’s my favorite part of the entire thing, meeting up with them when I can at the event and just hearing everyone’s stories.”

Community is at the heart of the organization, as Ayan’s Aces aims to foster connections among the women who attend that continue once the event is over.

 “I’ve had ladies come up to me and say, ‘Wow, I just met my new tennis best friend and we’ve been playing every single week,’” Broomfield says. “And I think that’s the whole point of this is to, one, get into tennis, experience it at the highest level, but then be able to take it to your local park or local club and continue fostering your love for the sport.”

Ayan’s Aces at the US Open

With the US Open in full swing, Broomfield is gearing up to bring Ayan’s Aces to the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in New York City in early September. On Sept. 2, she will host a suite with Grey Goose for 20 Black women influencers, followed by a suite in partnership with Cadillac on Sept. 4, featuring 30 athlete and influencer guests of color.

Broomfield, who is known for her smart fashion sense, will also use the opportunity to highlight Black designers, as she’s wearing brands like Harbison Studio and Sergio Hudson all tournament long. The future of Ayan’s Aces, she says, will merge her love of the sport with entertainment and fashion, and her objective is to take the organization worldwide.

Ayan Broomfield at the US Open / John Nacion/Getty Images

“My long-term goal is to have a really direct partnership with a lot of the tournaments and really establish [Ayan’s Aces] inside of the Grand Slams. I think that’s the most prestigious event, so allowing access to those events would be really amazing,” Broomfield says. “ ... One of the things that is amazing about the sport of tennis is that a tournament is in a different place every single week, so it really has this opportunity for growth globally. I would love to get [Ayan’s Aces] at every single tournament. I just want women of color to feel like they have a place and that they belong there.”