Tennis Industry News

09/14/09 - New York, NY—Alan G. Schwartz of Highland Park, Ill., was honored recently as the sole 2009 inductee of the Tennis Industry Hall of Fame. The ceremony took place at the annual Tennis Industry Association (TIA) Tennis Forum held at the Grand Hyatt in New York City.

Schwartz was introduced by Jeff Williams, publisher of Tennis Magazine and chairman of the TIA’s Tennis Industry Hall of Fame Committee.

“Twenty years ago, [the TIA and U.S. Tennis Association] were not a united family, but because of the efforts of Alan and others, bridges have been built that have brought us together,” Williams said. “Few people in the history of the tennis business have had the influence and prolific presence that Alan has had in his more than 40 years in this industry.”

“I love tennis. I love the sport. I love this industry and I love being a contributor,” said Schwartz, who expressed particular excitement about the potential of QuickStart Tennis, a play format for children using modified equipment, as a “silver bullet” to grow the game. “You have my promise that I will continue with undiminished passion to give back to this game I love so much.”

An experienced player who won seven state championships and eight national titles, Schwartz’s tennis leadership can be traced back to his college years when he captained the Yale University tennis team. After earning an engineering degree from Yale and an MBA with distinction from Harvard Business School, he worked as an entrepreneur in industrial real estate.

In 1969, he built Mid-Town Tennis Club in Chicago, where he pioneered the four-inch baseline, indirect court lighting and cushioned playing surfaces. He also co-created the National Tennis Rating Program (NTRP), the sport’s standard for rating players. Since that time, Mid-Town has become the anchor club for Schwartz’s 45-club Tennis Corporation of American (TCA). Between 1996 and 2000, TCA administered – pro bono – all programs on Chicago’s 680 public parks courts.

Now chairman of TCA Holdings, Schwartz has served as an officer and director of the Chicago District Tennis Association and Chicago Tennis Patrons for 20 years. His most visible achievement, however, has been his volunteer service with the USTA. In fact, according to Schwartz, it was 15 years ago this month that he and the late Tennis Week publisher Gene Scott “kicked up a lot of dust” as the first industry representatives to join the USTA Board of Directors. During that first year, Schwartz created the organization’s mission statement: “To promote and develop the growth of tennis.”

Schwartz served as USTA vice president for two consecutive terms before becoming first vice president and, from 2003 to 2004, the USTA’s chairman of the board and president. During his presidency, he played a key role in making the US Open Series a reality, hired the first master planner for the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center, enhanced the financial stability of the USTA and strengthened its relationships with organizations industry-wide.

He continues to serve as a member of the board of directors for the International Tennis Federation (ITF), on various ITF committees and with the International Tennis Hall of Fame. He is a member of the Club Industry Hall of Fame and Chicago District Hall of Fame, and past president of the National Indoor Tennis Association (now known as the International Health, Racquet and Sportsclub Association).