‘It still felt like home’: How one man fostered community through multiple ‘Prelude to ATA Nationals’ events

After a successful debut year in 2025, “The Prelude to ATA Nationals” returns with another thrilling four-city event tour courtesy of the USTA and the American Tennis Association (ATA). Ahead of the first stop this week in Dallas, USTA.com spoke with Julius Bryant, a tennis enthusiast living in Atlanta, Ga., who attended three of the four series events last year. 

Bryant said he also enjoyed learning about the history of ATA as an organization. The oldest African-American sports organization in the United States, the ATA was founded in 1916 by a group of African-American businessmen, college professors and physicians in response to the exclusion of Black players from competing in US Lawn Tennis Association (precursor to the USTA) organized tennis tournaments alongside white players. Today, the ATA continues to develop and promote opportunities through tennis in diverse communities.

“This is America, right? There's always been some kind of exclusion to a degree,” Bryant noted. “Obviously, in 2026, it's not the same as it was many years ago, but there's still the remnants of it. I think that's why groups like the ATA exist—to address that exclusion and to create spaces of inclusion. It’s really important that you still have organizations like the ATA that are going into different communities and making tennis more accessible to people who might not know about it.” 

That idea is what inspired the USTA to partner with the ATA to create “The Prelude to ATA Nationals.” After this coming weekend in Dallas, the schedule of events continues in Washington, D.C. (May 22-24), Chicago (May 29-31) and Atlanta (June 5-7). Each event will feature an adult social, a community play day and junior tournament play, culminating with the ATA National Championships beginning at the end of July.

While an injury is preventing Bryant from attending the Dallas event, he plans to make future events in the series and urges other people to join in on the fun. 

“I would definitely encourage people to attend events,” Bryant said. “I think a lot of times people shy away from things like this if they feel like they don't know how to play or know what they're doing, but it's super inclusive. They break out the drills by skill level, so even if someone doesn't really know how to play, there's still space and room for someone to come.”