By John A. Tures, Professor of Political Science, LaGrange College
All across Atlanta….America….the Tennis World, news of Christian Eubanks’ success at Wimbledon, along with Coco Gauff’s fame, shows that the Atlanta area in general, and Cobb County in particular, is set to add tennis to sports that the region dominates. But that’s only if the region doesn’t make some unforced errors, as it did in the past.
Think about how American tennis was in the 1990s. Pete Sampras, Andre Agassi, Jim Courier, Michael Chang, MaliVai Washington and Todd Martin were making finals and winning titles. And the Williams sisters were just getting started for their big run over the next two decades. Atlanta was poised to be the tennis capital of America, with the U.S. Olympic Games tennis center located near Stone Mountain, Georgia.
Fast forward to 2017. The 12,000 seat Olympic Tennis Center, abandoned for ten years, was finally demolished. The Williams sisters’ run was coming to an end. Other than Sloane Stephens that year, few Americans found their way to the finals of the U.S. Open, Wimbledon, French Open or Australian Open. Sofia Kenin was a rare exception. Tennis in the Atlanta area, and America in general, looked pretty bleak, as Swiss, Spaniards, and Serbs began to dominate.
But the Atlanta area’s rebound can be America’s tennis resurgence from the land that produced legends like John McEnroe, Billie Jean King, Chris Evert, Jimmy Connors and Arthur Ashe.
Christopher Eubanks, who upset several players and even knocked out fifth-seeded Stefanos Tsitsipas in the quarterfinals of Wimbledon, was a star for Georgia Tech. Cori Dionne “Coco” Gauff likewise lived in Atlanta, though it’s worth noting that she and her family returned to Delray Beach, Florida when she was younger for better tennis opportunities. Gauff and her partner, Jessica Pegula are still going strong in the doubles matches at Wimbledon, ranked #1 at one point. And Eubanks cited Gauff and Naomi Osaka for some good advice on his run. It’s the most excitement we’ve had at Wimbledon for men’s singles in this area since University of Georgia star John Isner had those marathon matches years ago.
Is Atlanta ready to reclaim its spot as the tennis center of America? You bet. And Cobb County will certainly do its part to contribute to that designation.
“InsiderMonkey.com” labeled the cities with the greatest number of courts and opportunities for registered players. And despite the Olympic Tennis Center debacle decades ago, Atlanta has reclaimed the number one spot, for courts and players, in their assessment.
It’s worth reporting that this blog contends that Miami has 59 courts, and San Diego has 68, and L.A. has 80. Nashville has 62 (and my son and I have struggled on such a court in serious need of repairs when we visit my folks). Seattle has 72 while Houston has 62. Raleigh, NC has just under 100, while Boston has over 80.
Cobb County, meanwhile, boasts 122 tennis courts, six full-service tennis centers, and 13 other satellite tennis facilities, according to their Parks and Recreation Department. There are ways to make these the best, from offering or continuing to be open hours after dark to enable players to beat the heat, enticing local stars from the big universities, but also the small colleges, to ensure there are lessons for everyone. In this way, Georgia can help America reclaim its tennis glory, serving as the hub for it all.
John A. Tures is a professor of political science at LaGrange College in LaGrange, Georgia. His views are his own. He can be reached at jtures@lagrange.edu. His Twitter account is JohnTures2.