US tennis player Kylie McKenzie receives $9 million in sexual abuse case

A Florida jury awarded U.S. tennis player Kylie McKenzie $9 million in damages after she sued the United States Tennis Association (USTA), claiming the organization failed to protect her from a coach who who allegedly sexually abused her, the Associated Press, CNN and The guard reported.

“I couldn’t be happier with the result. I feel vindicated,” McKenzie, 25, said in a statement released to media following the verdict. “It was very difficult, but I now feel like it was worth it. I hope I can be a role model for other girls to speak up, even when it’s difficult.”

According to CNN and GuardianIn March 2022, the tennis player filed a lawsuit alleging that the USTA committed “gross negligence” by employing her coach Anibal Aranda and “failing to properly supervise” him, despite previously reporting his “sexual predation” against her another USTA employee knew.

In the complaint, McKenzie alleged that Aranda, who was employed by the USTA for about seven years before being fired, used his position as a coach to gain access to female athletes and commit sexual assaults against them, the AP reported.

McKenzie’s attorneys and the USTA did not immediately respond to PEOPLE’s request for comment on the lawsuit.

In a statement to the AP, USTA spokesman Chris Widmaier said they plan to appeal the case. He added: “We sympathize with the plaintiff and what she has been through. We do not dispute her allegations against a coach – and have never done so.”

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He also noted that the USTA was “deeply disturbed” by the ruling. “The court held that the USTA was liable because one of its employees – a non-athlete – was required to report her own experiences with this coach to the USTA, an incident that only came to light after the USTA removed the coach. This states.” “A new and unreasonable expectation for victims that will discourage them from coming forward in the future,” he said.

McKenzie claimed she was sexually abused by Aranda in 2018, when she was 19 and he was 34, The Athletic reported. The outlet added that the coach “denied touching McKenzie inappropriately.”

The tennis player, who reached a career-high No. 33 in 2016, previously shared during a press conference in 2022 that her experiences with Aranda had affected her mental health on the court and she struggled with anxiety, panic attacks and depression.

“My confidence and self-esteem were gone both on and off the court,” she said at the time, according to CNN.