James Humphrey helps City of Alton connect with tennis

Most St. Louisans might know Alton as a popular daytrip destination. The iconic Clark Bridge, a beautiful downtown and easy access to Pere Marquette State Park are all highlights of the small Illinois town.

But what you might not expect to see is a vibrant tennis community headed by one incredible individual: James Humphrey.

Humphrey serves as a board member for the Simpson Memorial Tennis Program, Alton's primary tennis association. But in terms of involvement and outreach, he’s probably the main man.

Humphrey is the tournament director of the Bud Simpson Open, a Level 5 Open tourney slated for June 6-8 in Alton later this year. He is also the tournament director for the Alton Open and NTRP, an L5 Open event set for July 11-13.

“There’s a lot of history of tennis being played here in Alton,” Humphrey said. “I remember playing at Rock Springs when I was a kid. There were some great players there. There has been some great tennis at the Bud Simpson Open, which has been going on for 42 straight years.”

Just like many other kids, Humphrey developed a knack for hitting a ball against a wall. From there he was sold, but growing up in small-town Illinois it wasn’t easy to find opportunities to play.

“I didn't receive any kind of formal tennis training until I had reached high school,” he said. “I was fortunate enough to have a great coach at that time who pushed me to grow as a player.”

During his college days at the University of Missouri, he kept tennis around as a hobby. However, as a young professional in Austin, Texas, it wasn’t easy to find time to hit the courts.

But after a few years in Austin, Humphrey, “on a whim” in his words, decided to join the Austin Tennis League. From there he joined USTA leagues and even started captaining teams. By becoming more involved in the tennis scene, he had an idea for a way for players to find a court.

“It was around the first few days of the internet when I had this idea of creating a map of all the tennis courts,” Humphrey said. “I made the map available on a website, and that opened doors. It helped me become more connected in the community.”

Now, tennismaps.com is a vast global database of tennis courts from the United States to Brazil to India.

Humphrey ended up joining the Capital Area Tennis Association in Austin and met individuals who taught him about the importance of tennis as a lifetime sport. It was down in Texas that Humphrey's love for the sport was reignited.