Hall of Fame: Tara Snyder

USTA Missouri Valley 2021 Hall of Fame Inductee Tara Snyder is one of the best players to come out of the section. She was introduced to tennis by her father, Darrel, at the age of five on city courts in Wichita. As a junior, Snyder was coached by her father and Brent Fields. 

Snyder quickly rose up the ranks as a junior, becoming USTA Missouri Valley’s No. 1 player and climbing as high as No. 3 nationally. She won the U.S. Open Junior Singles title in 1995, and began playing ITF events in 1994. She was a member of the US Junior National team in 1994 & 1995, then a member of the USTA Pro Team from 1996-1999.

Register now for the 2021 USTA Missouri Valley Hall of Fame Induction and Awards Celebration Saturday, December 4th

Snyder’s dedication and drive to continue improving helped her take the next step in her junior career as she would put in anywhere from three to five hours of practice each day honing her skills.

It was this tenacity and drive that really drove Tara throughout her career, from junior tennis up through her professional career. She refused to give up or stop practicing until she felt something was perfect.

Snyder spent over a decade on the WTA Tour with her brother Darren by her side as her coach. Later in her career, Tara’s husband, and former ATP pro Brent Haygarth, also joined her coaching team. Her first career professional tournament title came at ITF/Delray Beach in 1997. In that same year, Snyder reached the second round at the US Open.

In 1998, Snyder had her best year as a pro. She won her first WTA event singles title at Quebec City, where she defeated Chanda Rubin. The victory helped propel her ranking to a career-best No. 33. She also picked up a win over world No. 11 Irina Spirlea at Amelia Island before bowing out in the quarterfinals. 

Snyder had another stellar year in 1999, this time reaching the semis in Quebec City - where Rubin avenged her loss to Snyder the year prior. At the Quebec City event, she defeated then world No. 10 Amanda Coetzner. In 1999, Snyder also reached the third round of the US Open. In the second round, she and opponent Emmanuelle Gagliardi went to a first-set tie break that would soon become the longest tie-break in WTA tour history, lasting 40 points. Snyder dropped the tie-break, but rallied to defeat Gagliardi 6-7 6-1, 6-1.

The Pan American games also came calling for Snyder in 1999. Snyder had a great tournament, coming away with the silver medal. Other career highlights include victories against Maria Sharapova, Martina Hingis and Marion Bartoli.

In 1995, Snyder spent her rookie year in WorldTeam Tennis with the Wichita Advantage. After a three-year hiatus, Snyder joined the St. Louis Aces for two seasons. After that, she joined the Kansas City Explorers in 2000, followed by a stint with the Springfield Lasers in 2002. In 2009, she joined the Kansas City Explorers where Haygarth served as the team’s coach. She also played for the Texas Wild in 2013.

Injuries eventually took their toll on Snyder, forcing her to retire early from the game in 2006. But with her passion for the game, it wasn’t long before she found new ways to give back to the game that gave her so much. 

Snyder took immense pride in being able to give back after her playing career was over. She spent seven years on the USTA Nominating Committee from 2009-2012 and again from 2016-2018, where she was highly respected by her peers and the board. She also went back to school at the University of Missouri to get her Master’s in Psychology, focusing on Positive Coaching. She used that experience to go around to local schools and talk to coaches and players and inspire them to continue working toward their goals. Her impact is still alive and well in Wichita to this day.

“There's a lot of kids in Wichita that even to this day I'll go and someone's either playing pickleball or tennis, they're like, ‘I wanted to be like your sister, I never could, but I tried.’ So there were a lot of people that looked up to Tara,” her brother Darren said.

As great as her playing career was, Snyder’s impact on tennis goes far beyond just her playing accolades. Snyder is thrilled and honored that her lifetime of hard work and dedication is being recognized with such a distinguished honor. 

“It is an honor for me to be recognized by my peers for this honor at such a young age. I’ve worked incredibly hard throughout my career, both on and off the court.”

To honor Tara and the rest of our 2021 award winners, please click here to register for the 2021 USTA Missouri Valley Annual Conference.