MASON, OH − Phil Carver said he returned for his ninth year as a Cincinnati Open volunteer because of the family atmosphere.
“It’s a sense of giving back to the community and helping out,” said Carver, who lives in Sharonville.
Carver would’ve never imagined he’d add to his family through the Cincinnati Open.
Carver, a well-traveled veteran volunteer of Super Bowls, World Series and Final Fours, was working as the Cincinnati Open’s “Gauntlet Coordinator” Aug. 14. Carver’s main duty was to clear a formidable path for tennis stars to go from the locker room to the venue’s new two-story players’ lounge.
Instead of screaming, autograph-seeking fans, though, Carver spotted some four-legged companions going into the players’ lounge.
“Apparently, Fifth Third Bank sponsored the SPCA, and they brought dogs in,” Carver said. “I saw these dogs and was playing with one of them. I let them go into the players’ lounge.”
The dog Carver was playing with left an impact. He was going to be late to the tournament the next day.
“I went to the SPCA in Sharonville and adopted this little puppy,” Carver. “I took him back home and gave him to the family.”
Unbeknownst to Carver, the mut he had just adopted was already famous. The puppy, who was named Arden, was held by World No. 1 Jannik Sinner the day before in a video posted on social media by the Cincinnati Open.
Typically, volunteers are not allowed to mingle with players.
However, when Sinner learned that Arden had been adopted by a volunteer, he invited Carver to his birthday celebration after beating Terence Atmane in the quarterfinals of the Cincinnati Open Aug. 16.
“They got me to go in and he (Sinner) gave me three big hugs saying, ‘you’re a good guy!’ I told him, ‘No, you’re a good guy because you’re a dog lover!'” Carver said. “It was pretty cool.”
Carver had an easy choice for his dog’s new name.
“We named him Jannik. He’s little Janny.”