Cat Becomes First Feline Ball Boy at U.S. Open

Cat Becomes First Feline Ball Boy at U.S. Open

Lost amidst all the great on-the-court drama is a storyline of feline interest at this year’s U.S. Open, which concludes this weekend at Flushing Meadows in Queens, NY. This year’s tournament contains an amazing first: Stanley, the very first cat ball boy.

Stanley, who has been a life long chaser of balls, got his crack at the big time last week when a human ball girl – Monica Verandez – pulled out with flu like symptoms.

“We decided to give the cat a shot,” said Candace Randazzo, VP of Ball Retrieval Operations for the USTA. “We’d been monitoring his career for awhile, and liked what we saw at an amateur tournament earlier this year at the Tennis Hall of Fame in Newport, RI.”

Randazzo has to feel good now about making that call. Stanley has been off-the-charts good, with a 99.4% retrieval success rate – unheard of among rookies.

“We’re pleased,” she said. “I’m sure we’ll be seeing a lot more of Stanley. He’s a natural.”

Via No_Water.