How Bernard Murray got started in tennis

Throughout Black History Month, USTA.com will feature first-person essays from coaches, players and tennis advocates. Meet Bernard Murray from our USTA Chicago District. In his essay, Murray describes the first time he interacted with tennis, and the unique influence that tennis role models like Arthur Ashe have showcased through diversity in sport.

"I grew up on the west side of Chicago in the Austin community and tennis wasn’t prevalent in my neighborhood. In fact, this side of town was ruled by basketball.

One sunny weekend afternoon, I was riding my bike down Austin Boulevard and as I approached Jackson Boulevard near the Columbus Park tennis courts, I saw a flurry of activity that I had never seen before. There were at least 15 to 20 kids running back and forth hitting tennis balls as the instructor was yelling out commands, “Move your feet and step into the ball!”

The coach saw me peering through the chain link fence and asked if I wanted to join the class. I told him I was on my way home but I’d come back later.

I bought a used Head tennis racquet and began to hit off the wall at the tennis courts in Oak Park. My introduction to tennis has led me to coaching at the high school and collegiate level as well as teaching tennis at private downtown tennis facilities. Tennis inspired me to host a tennis tournament in the early 90s, “August Sun” in Evanston with my lifelong tennis partners Don Walton and the late Roger Allen.  I even have a nonprofit tennis academy for inner city youth to learn the game of tennis along with music.

Years later, as I learned to play and began teaching tennis at the local park district, I found out that the coach giving the lessons at Columbus Park was none other than the tennis legend himself Mel Phillips!"