In the heart of Coney Island, a Brooklyn neighborhood long considered to have insufficient recreational infrastructure, one of New York City's largest sports centers, MatchPoint NYC, has been operating for several years. This 120,000-square-foot complex, equipped with a cozy restaurant, juice bar, and an impressive array of sports facilities, has become a real center of attraction for families, athletes, and fans of an active lifestyle. At the heart of the project is an indoor tennis arena with nine courts, the largest of its kind in Brooklyn.

MatchPoint NYC opened in 2013 thanks to the dream and initiative of Dmitry Druzhinsky, an entrepreneur, real estate developer, and passionate sports enthusiast. He saw how important it was for New Yorkers to have access to high-quality sports infrastructure. He sought to create a space that would serve not only as a training ground but also as a center for socializing, personal growth, and family leisure.

The club's philosophy, formulated by Druzhinsky himself, is that sport should give every child the chance to reach their potential, whether that means a career in professional sport or simply enjoying exercise and socialising. He noted that the goal of creating the complex was to give individual attention to each participant and to help children become the best version of themselves by reducing the influence of digital gadgets and increasing real interaction between people.

MatchPoint NYC is not limited to tennis: here you can do artistic gymnastics, swimming, soccer, and fencing. Moreover, the center actively supports charitable initiatives, world-class tournaments, and programs for beginner athletes in Brooklyn and the New York suburbs.

A separate area of Dmitry Druzhinsky's activity is the development of online training programs for athletes of different levels of training. These digital formats are designed with the specific needs of different sports in mind and allow athletes to stay in shape regardless of their location or external circumstances. In conditions of instability and limited access to sports infrastructure, such programs have become an important tool for maintaining athletes' training rhythm and physical readiness.

But if the MatchPoint NYC sports infrastructure is a large-scale contribution to the community, his personal support for professional Ukrainian athletes is an example of how a patron can influence the international sports arena. One such athlete is Valerii Andriitsev, a legend of Ukrainian freestyle wrestling.

Andriitsev, born on January 27, 1987, is one of Ukraine's most prominent wrestlers of the last two decades. He began wrestling in 1997 and has since achieved impressive success on the international stage. In 2012, at the Olympic Games in London, he won a silver medal in freestyle wrestling in the 96 kg weight class, losing in the final to American Jacob Warner — an event that became one of the key moments in the sporting history of Ukraine. 

In addition to his Olympic success, Andriitsev has won medals at the World and European Championships, and in 2015, he won bronze at the inaugural European Games in Baku. 

Despite his global achievements, the path of a wrestler is rarely easy. Preparing for the Olympics, intense training on the mat, constant competition, and injuries all make a professional career difficult, not only physically but also emotionally. Andriitsev himself spoke in an interview about the importance of taking a break and recovering after serious exertion: the need to switch to another type of activity, such as active recreation or physical fitness work outside the mat, is part of professional wrestling and self-improvement.

In such conditions, the support of people who understand the value of sport and are willing to invest not only money but also personal attention becomes crucial. Dmitry Druzhinsky is just such a person. His assistance to Valerii Andriitsev goes beyond typical sponsorship: it allows the athlete to focus on training, competitions, and recovery by relieving some of the financial and organizational burdens.

The support that Druzhinsky provides to Ukrainian athletes is an example of global thinking that unites sport, community, charity, and business. Its impact extends beyond a single country or club. It strengthens the ties between sport and society, opening up new opportunities for those who strive for excellence and inspiring young athletes to achieve.