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A court in the US ruled that the United States Tennis Association (USTA) failed to protect her from being sexually assaulted by a coach. Kylie McKenzie, a 25-year-old American tennis player, filed her lawsuit in March 2022 in the US District Court in Orlando, Florida, suing the USTA and USTA Player Development Incorporated while alleging her former coach, Anibal Aranda – who had been employed by the organization at the time – “committed sexual assault and battery” against her.
McKenzie and her lawyers also accused the USTA of “gross negligence” by “employing but yet failing to properly supervise Coach Aranda despite his known history of sexual predation was so reckless or wanting in care that it constituted a conscious disregard or indifference to the life, safety, or rights of” McKenzie.
In a press conference held in 2022, McKenzie said that the incident affected her performances on the court, as she dealt with anxiety, panic attacks and depression as a result of Aranda’s actions.
“My confidence and my self-esteem was gone,” McKenzie said, “both on and off the court.”
On Monday, a jury awarded McKenzie $3 million in compensation and $6 million in punitive damages.
McKenzie, who was seen as one of the rising stars in US tennis, moved to the USTA’s facility in Orlando when she was 19.
Shortly after, Aranda began to coach McKenzie. McKenzie alleges that Aranda remarked on her physical appearance, inquired about her personal life and would instigate inappropriate physical contact with her.
In October 2018, Aranda stood close behind McKenzie during what he said was a serving drill “so that his full body was pressed up against her back and butt, and then he grabbed her hips with his hands” according to the lawsuit.
In her filing, McKenzie alleged that Aranda placed his hand on her thigh at the end of a practice session in November 2018, before sliding his hand under a towel on her lap and rubbing her groin over her clothes.
After reporting the alleged incident, an investigation was opened into Aranda by the US Center for SafeSport – an independent non-profit organization tasked with safeguarding athletes from emotional, physical and sexual abuse.
Aranda was fired after working for seven years.
Lewis Musonye
