Santa Fe’s Forked Lightning Racquet Club named USTA's Featured Facility of the Year

Forked Lightning Racquet Club in Santa Fe, N.M., was named the USTA's Featured Facility of the Year, the highest honor bestowed by the USTA on a tennis facility. Forked Lightning Racquet Club was one of 41 winners of the USTA’s annual Outstanding Facility Awards Program, which recognizes excellence in the construction and/or renovation of tennis facilities throughout the country. All 41 recipients were honored Monday, August 31, at an awards reception held at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in New York as part of the 2026 US Open.

In addition to its on-site programming, First Serve New Mexico also works with local schools, and plans to bring its ‘Tennis in PE’ initiative to six Title I schools, integrating tennis into the school day and helping to remove barriers such as cost, transportation and scheduling. The program will reach students from under-resourced communities, while creating a pathway into year-round tennis programming.

“Facilities like Forked Lightning Racquet Club are really the heart of tennis in our communities. It’s more than just a facility; it’s about bringing neighbors together and making sure everyone feels welcome to pick up a racquet and play,” said Theodore Loehrke, Managing Director, Head of Section Partnerships, USTA. “The work they do locally is what keeps our game growing and makes such a positive difference in people's lives.”

Facilities were judged on the following criteria: overall layout and adaptation to site; excellence of court surface and lights; ease of maintenance; accommodations for players, spectators and press/officials; aesthetics; graphics (including the use of signs and landscaping); amenities such as casual seating for spectators, food services and social areas; and the facilities’ participation in grassroots tennis programs.

Nominated facilities were voted on in the following categories: Public Courts that are either small tennis centers with 2 to11 courts or large tennis centers with 12 or more courts; Private Facilities that offer both USTA and public programming designed to help grow tennis (small: 2-11 courts; large: 12 or more courts); Educational Institutions such as colleges, universities, public and private grade schools, middle schools, or high schools; and Innovation, which recognizes facilities that have been particularly innovative when it comes to delivering tennis. All 2026 award winners will receive a wall plaque and an all-weather sign that can be mounted at the facility.

The 2026 USTA Outstanding Facility Award winners are:

Public Courts: Small Tennis Centers (2 to 11 courts)

• Conway Tennis Center (Conway, Ark.)
• Ernest Grundy Tennis Center (Kearney, Neb.)
• First Serve Muncie Racquet Club (Muncie, Ind.)
• HRCA Tennis Pavilion (Highlands Ranch, Colo.)
• Joe W. Brown Tennis Center (New Orleans)
• Lake Oswego Tennis Center (Lake Oswego, Ore.)
• Ron Jaworski’s RiverWinds Golf & Tennis Club (West Deptford, N.J.)

Public Courts: Large Tennis Centers (12 or more courts)

• Bailey Road Park Court Complex (Cornelius, N.C.) 
• Bob Day Tennis Complex (Garland, Texas)
• Cayce Tennis & Fitness Center (Cayce, S.C.)
• Kossover Tennis Center (Topeka, Kan.)
• The Jimmy Evert Tennis Center (Fort Lauderdale, Fla.)
• Tuscaloosa Tennis Center (Tuscaloosa, Ala.)
• Wellington Tennis Center (Wellington, Fla.)

Small Private Facilities (2-11 courts)

• Bay Area Racquet Club (Houston) 
• Doral Park Country Club (Doral, Fla.)
• Fort Collins Country Club (Fort Collins, Colo.)
• Hampshire Hills Athletic Club (Mildford, N.H.)
• John Newcombe Country Club (New Braunfels, Texas) 
• New Rochelle Racquet Club (New Rochelle, N.Y.)
• Peninsula Tennis Club (Burlingame, Calif.)
• The Buccaneer Resort (Christiansted, U.S. Virgin Islands)

Large Private Facilities (12 or more courts)

• Broadstone Sports Club (Folsom, Calif.) 
• ITP Training Academy (Atlanta)
• Midtown Athletic Club (Weston, Fla.)
• The Courts, Cape Coral (Cape Coral, Fla.)

Educational Institutions

• Arrillaga Tennis Center (Stanford, Calif.) 
• Avon High School Tennis Center (Avon, Ind.)
• Brownsburg Tennis Facility (Brownsburg, Ind.)
• Donald Van Blake Tennis Complex (Plainfield, N.J.)
• East St. Louis Senior High School (East St. Louis, Ill.)
• FGCU Tennis Complex (Fort Myers, Fla.)
• Headington Family Tennis Center & Wadley Indoor Tennis Pavilion (Norman, Okla.)
• Hecht Tennis Center (Philadelphia)
• Michael W. and Quirsis V. Riney Family Tennis Center (St. Louis, Mo.)
• MRA Tennis Complex (Madison, Miss.)
• NAU Tennis Center (Flagstaff, Ariz.)
• Rollins Tennis & Golf Center (Winter Park, Fla.)

Innovative

• Court 16 Newton (Newton, Mass.) 
• Court 16 Ridge Hill (Yonkers, N.Y.)
• Forked Lightning Racquet Club (Santa Fe, N.M.)*

*2026 Featured Facility of the Year