Included in the Class of 2022: Midwestern Tennis Association (MID-TAC), Bernard A. Chavis, Bruce Stone, Sande French, Otis Smith III, Carl Hodge and Marion I. Rice
HONOR HIGHLY ACCOMPLISHED BLACK TENNIS ORGANIZATIONS, PIONEERS, PLAYERS, CONTRIBUTORS AND REGIONAL LEGENDS
Service 6
MAINTAIN ALL COLLECTIBLE ARTIFACTS AND MEDIA FOR BLACK TENNIS HISTORY MUSEUM
CLASS OF 2022 VIRTUAL 14TH ANNUAL INDUCTION CEREMONY
Again on the historic grounds of HBCU Virginia Union University, Black Tennis Hall of Fame Chief Executive Officer Shelia Curry and Founder Dr. Dale G. Caldwell and his daughter Ashley Caldwell hosted the 14th Annual Induction Ceremony of the Class of 2022
Parallax Image
*****CONGRATULATIONS CLASS OF 2023*****
TOP ROW(L-R): Dr. John Andrew Watson, Jr., Pioneer and Contributor, Cecil Hollins, Contributor, Edward John Davis, Regional Legend BOTTOM ROW(L-R): Eddie Davis, Regional Legend, Ronald Landfair, Regional Legend
In 1978 Bolletieri purchased a
23 acre tomato farm to start the Nick Bollettieri Tennis Academy. He has
become a tennis legend by expanding on the high performance tennis camp
model made popular by coaching legends like Harry Hopman and John
Newcombe. In a relatively short period of time after the camp opened, he
was able to convince some of the United States’ best junior players to
come to the camp to compete against each other. Young players like Andre
Agassi, Jim Courier, Chip Hooper, Pete Sampras, Martin Blackman, Maria
Sharapova, Monica Seles, Anna Kournikova and many others helped to make
the camp the legendary success it has become. Over the years there have
been a lot of high performance tennis camps. However, the Nick
Bolletieri Tennis Academy is arguably the most successful of all time
because it includes ten world number 1 players among its alumni. These
players included Andre Agassi, Boris Becker, Jim Courier, Martina
Hingis, Jelena Jankovic, Marcelo Rios, Monica Seles, Maria Sharapova,
Serena Williams and Venus Williams. In addition, Bolletieri alumni and
former professional player Martin Blackman is the Head of Player
Development for the USTA.Establishing a world class tennis training camp
was not enough for Bolletieri.
He had a personal passion for growing the game in nontraditional
communities. In 1987, after meeting with Arthur Ashe to discuss the lack
of black tennis players on the professional tennis circuit, he and Ashe
decided to create the Ashe/Bollettieri “Cities” Tennis Program (ABC).
This unique national tennis organization established well-run
instructional programs in urban communities across the United States.
The programs were operated in Albany, New York; Kansas City, Kansas;
Kansas City, Missouri; Los Angeles, California; Newark, New Jersey; and,
New York, New York. The program was later renamed the Arthur Ashe Safe
Passage Foundation and ran for 13 years. During this time more than
20,000 students from urban communities were taught tennis, tutored and
received health education. Many of those students have payed forward
what they learned in this program and are teaching in or supporting
urban tennis programs around the world. Bolletieri was inducted into the
Tennis Industry Hall of Fame in 2012, the United States Professional
Tennis Association (USPTA) Hall of Fame in 2013 and the International
Tennis Hall of Fame in 2014. He was inducted into the Black Tennis Hall
of Fame (BTHOF) in 2015 because of his legendary commitment to growing
tennis in urban and black communities in the United States. He invested
hundreds of thousands of dollars of his personal money and valuable time
to ensure that this program was a success. Thanks to Ashe and
Bolletieri’s efforts in this program, which was led by BTHOF executive
director Bob Davis, tens of thousands of young people graduated from
college, received college scholarships, became great tennis players and,
most importantly, became productive citizens of the world.
When she was 8 years old, Sande French’s little brother Don gave her a
globe for Christmas. Every night, she would spin it, then dream about
the place where her finger would stop it.
“Who knew I would have a chance to experience some [of those
places],” said French. “From playing on the public courts of Nicholl
Park in Richmond, California, to my first grass court event, the public
park that becomes Eastbourne’s event on the English Channel, or a
sumptuous meal in Tallinn, Estonia or sushi in Tokyo, or witnessing the
longtail soaring and the crystal blue skies of Bermuda, traversing the
Great Wall of China, a stroll along the Huevo de Julio in Buenos Aires,
the grandeur of the Taj Mahal, stepping on the revered motherland of
Cameroon, to the low grass of Wimbledon.”
Had someone told French she would live this dream, “I would have laughed them into the next county.”
“Yet, here I am watching worldwide tennis from the best seat in the house,” French said.
On Saturday, Sept. 17, French, a Richmond native, Richmond High
graduate and the first and only Black female chair umpire in
professional tennis in the U.S., was formally inducted into the Black
Tennis Hall of Fame. She was among seven people inducted at the 14th annual ceremony at Virginia Union University in Richmond, Va.
We were tipped off to this Hall of Fame honor by Arto Rinteela,
president of the Fairmeade Hilltop Neighborhood Council, who was a
classmate of French’s in the graduating Class of 1974 at Richmond High.
Rinteela remembers another one of French’s talents that manifested in
the high school marching band.'
‘Everybody wanted to be around SandE.’
“She was a talented clarinet player,” Rinteela said. “She had a great
personality and was very smart. Everybody wanted to be around Sande.”
Rinteela also recalled French as “one of the few” tennis players at Richmond High in those days.
While accepting her latest honor (see the video
of the ceremony here), French reflected with deep gratitude on her 36
years of officiating professional tennis. Her resume speaks for itself.
In 1993, French became the only African-American in history to chair the
US Open Singles Final. She has chaired 10 U.S. Open Finals, worked
Wimbledon six times and the Australian Open three times. She also
chaired the Fed Cups internationally and the NCAA championship Final.
Photo courtesy of the Black Tennis Hall of Fame.
French also gives back to her profession, taking the initiative to
conceive, implement and teach chair clinics and training in Northern
California. She has volunteered as a referee for regional wheelchair
tournaments for 12 years, coached a wheelchair player, was a member of
USTA chair mentoring program in 2010, assisted coaching at Mendocino
High School in 2014, and was a USTA trainer and/or evaluator from 1995
to 2015.
Her awards and accolades are numerous, from 1991 Umpire of the Year
in Northern California to election into the Bay Area African-American
Ethnic Sports Hall of Fame in 2007. Four years prior, she was honored
with the Multicultural Participation Committee Trailblazing Award.
Throughout her career, she has inspired others, including people of
color, to aspire to become tennis officials or to achieve higher levels
in their careers.
‘One never knows what life will bring. The endgame always is to improve from the previous day.’
During the Black Tennis Hall of Fame induction ceremony, French
thanked her college teammate, Karen Cook-Henderson, “who nudged me and
got me started in officiating 36 years ago.” She thanked various
“ohanas,” from her family to her colleagues over the years.
French also expressed “immense gratitude” to Jay Snyder, who as
chairman of officials saw her potential by giving her a shot. She
acknowledged her “first bestie umpire Joy Gay, who regularly stood up
for us when we were treated unjustly, pushing back on the
archaic practices.”
“When she passed in 1996, I took over her mantle, which is where my trouble began,” French said.
Along with Cecil Holland, French sued the USTA and ITF for
discrimination, alleging officials of conspiring to keep Blacks and
women from officiating important matches. It’s a stand “that cost us
both of our careers,” French said. “Twenty-nine years later nothing has
changed, we all know why.”
Photo courtesy of the Black Tennis Hall of Fame.
French says the inner workings of professional tennis will be revealed in her upcoming book.
“McEnroe deserves a whole chapter,” she quipped. “It will be fun.”
As a Black, gay woman who achieved great things in tennis
officiating, French said she’s benefited from generations of
barrier-breakers.
“I stand on their shoulders,” she said. “I embrace their excellence and am forever indebted for their sacrifices.”
She added, “One never knows what life will bring. The endgame always is to improve from the previous day."
Social Footer