How USTA Tennis Venue Services upgraded Chicago's Whitney M. Young Magnet School

For Whitney Young, the result was brand-new courts in the school colors, orange and navy blue. They are, according to Adams, both eye-catching and enticing to passersby.

“The facilities are everything,” she notes. “When you are looking at facilities around the country, you can see that the TVS program has really inspired communities by building or rebuilding courts. It is so important to have a facility that looks good. It’s what a kid sees fi rst. If they see something nice, they want to play on it.”

An additional upgrade to the courts was an electronic admittance system through USTA Connect in which users can reserve a court online using a QR code. The Smart Court system keeps the courts safe from vandalism, builds a database of tennis players in the area, and still allows both students and community members access to them. Allowing the community to play on these courts drives the health and wellness in the community, builds more connection with the tennis team and school, and provides revenue for the team and the school for ongoing maintenance. This year alone, the courts have a near 60% occupancy rate (3,131 hours), with 595 unique players, and income close to $35,000.

“The new courts have been great in terms of allowing us to host more teams at our school,” says Rickey Harris, Whitney Young’s principal. “Teams from southern Illinois have made the trek and have just fallen in love with the construction of the courts.”

While Adams speaks of inspiration coming from the courts, the school saw inspiration in their alumna who has continued to give back to her sport. After college, she had a stellar pro doubles career, winning 20 titles, before moving on to become USTA president and CEO (and chair of the US Open). She’s now the executive director of the Harlem Junior Tennis & Education Program in New York.

And that was why a plaque at the facility now reads: “Katrina Adams Tennis Courts.”

“That was one of the most thrilling honors of my career,” Adams says. “People sometimes ask me, ‘What is your legacy?’ and I used to say, ‘I don’t know yet.’ But these courts are a legacy. People will see that plaque and say, ‘Who was that?’ And they’ll learn something.”

Mary Helen Sprecher is a contributing editor to Racquet Sports Industry magazine. For more on how the USTA’s Tennis Venue Services can help your facility or project, visit usta.com/facilities or email facilities@usta.com.