How the public parks of Chicago sparked Katrina Adams’ tennis legacy

Katrina Adams likes to say she stumbled into the sport of tennis — maybe crashed is a better word.

Growing up on the west side of Chicago, she had two brothers, six and eight years older, who participated in the programs of the Boys Club. It was the summer of 1974 and tennis was the activity of choice. Six-year-old Katrina tagged along.

“I literally had to sit outside the fence for two weeks and kind of begged my way in, nagged the coaches and my parents,” Adams said. “They finally gave in. When I got on the court, I loved it from the first strike.

“The rest, as they say, is history.”

As the 138^th US Open continues to unfold, it’s an appropriate time to reflect on Adams’ contributions to the event — and the game of tennis.

Adams followed her early passion to an All-American career at Northwestern University and a notable run as a professional on the WTA Tour. But what truly distinguishes Adams is what came next. After retiring, she rose steadily through the ranks, and in 2015 was named the president of the United States Tennis Association. It was an unlikely and unprecedented honor, for she was the first former professional tennis player, the first African American woman and the youngest (at 46) to serve in that position in the 135-year history of the USTA.

“Those firsts really gave me a platform that many other presidents didn’t have,” Adams said in an interview from her home just outside New York City. “From an image perspective, I think it put the USTA on a different status level than what it had been before. Which allowed me to speak on a multitude of platforms that hadn’t been spoken on before. That was huge.

“My whole thing is to get back to the basics of the ABCs. … Be more accountable and accessible, being more bold in how we change our behavior toward the sport and communicating better with stakeholders and collaborating better with our partners to be better able to provide the access I wanted for everyone.”

A journey of service

In her first full season as a professional, 1988, Adams reached the fourth round at Wimbledon pushing Chris Evert to three sets. In doubles, she and Zina Garrison advanced to the semifinals at the All England Club. Those are among the on-court highlights of her career.

There was another Wimbledon takeaway that might have had a more profound influence on her career — the first understanding of what being a true professional actually meant.

“I came out of college a good 15, 20 pounds overweight for professional tennis,” Adams said. “First half of the year it worked, but I eventually said, `OK, I’m out of shape. I shouldn’t be running out of gas.’ No matter how hard I thought I was working, at the level of a professional athlete it wasn’t enough. So that was kind of a pivotal point for me to become fitter.”

She would win 20 doubles titles with Garrison and more than 400 matches. More telling, perhaps, were the two Peachy Kellmeyer WTA Player Service Awards she picked up in 1996 and 1997. She served on what is known today as the WTA Tour Board of Directors. Adams also was part of a number of committees, including anti-doping and Special Olympics.

Adams credits WTA mentors like Kellmeyer and the late Lee Jackson with helping her in those roles.

“They made sure I was front and center in a lot of situations,” Adams said. “I’m not sure if it was because I was Black and to kind of show the diversity, showing that I’m more than just a tennis player. Or the fact they saw the leadership qualities that I showed on tour.

“It was them understanding that, `Hey, there’s life after tennis. You’re in your 20s and you don’t realize that, but you need to start creating relationships.’”

Learning the business of professional tennis, being a voice for the players, wanting to be a leader, helped Adams make the transition to the business world after she retired. That happened in 1999 when she was 31. Her body was breaking down and emotionally she was losing her competitive fire.

“I got to the point where I’d lose a match and it didn’t faze me,” Adams said. “It was like, `OK, where are we going to dinner?’”

Initially, she stayed close to the game on the ground as a USTA regional coach and later at the national level. She did mini-camps with John Isner and Robby Ginepri and traveled the world with younger players like Andy Roddick, Alex Bogomolov, Ashley Harkleroad and Carly Gullikson when they played international events. After more than four years of coaching – sometimes 18-hour days as a chaperone, a babysitter, a mom and everything else — she took a six-month break to sort out what was next.

Adams studied communications at Northwestern and fit in nicely as an analyst in the early days of Tennis Channel. It was the late Alan Schwartz, then the USTA president, who first saw her potential as a leader and helped put her on an ascendant track. He asked her to apply to join the USTA Board of Directors in the elite athlete category.

“Alan was sort of a godfather to me,” Adams said. “I knew him since I was seven. He thought I had something to offer the organization, and I had no idea what he was talking about. I said, `OK, I’ll give it a go’ not thinking I’d get nominated.”

As a player, Adams said, it was easy to overlook all the grass-roots programs, the elite junior programs the USTA offered. But as a member of the board, she came to realize she had been the beneficiary of a number of its programs since the age of 10, from the Chicago District Tennis Association to junior excellence programs to junior Fed Cup teams. Programs, she noted, her family couldn’t have afforded without the support of the USTA.

Four years later, when her athletic status ran out, she was nominated as a USTA director-at-large. She immediately set her sights on becoming vice president, first vice president — and eventually, president. Adams began to hone in on the disparate elements of the business that would make her more knowledgeable and prepared.

As president, from 2015-2019, Adams found herself on a level playing field with the leaders of the other Grand Slams, as well as the WTA and ATP Tours — and reached back to the skills she developed as a player.

“It’s the perseverance and discipline you have as a professional tennis player, the self-confidence that you’ve developed to go into these different spaces, different arenas and feel you belong,” Adams said. “I never felt that I didn’t belong. But I think these are the life skills and attributes that you learn on the court that allows you to take it off the court in a different skill set.”

In her book, `Own the Arena,’ Adams writes about the importance of having a `personal board of business people and friends, acquaintances’ over the years that you trust and have expertise in areas that you might not be so strong in.

One of her biggest goals for the USTA was growth, particularly in under-served communities.

“My major initiative was the Hispanic initiative,” she said. “At the time, and it continues today, our Hispanic/Latinex community is the largest-growing demographic in America. If we don’t engage our youths and adults from these demographics, we’re not doing our job.

“We made some giant strides, but I always say, it’s not the result you have when you’re in office, it’s the seeds that you plant. It takes time for the sprouts or the branches to appear. You have to be patient with the process.”

The circle of life

After stepping down from the USTA, Adams, 55, did not exactly drift into an easy retirement.

She completed eight years as the International Tennis Federation vice president, a global position that gave her a broader platform. She’s still the chairperson of the Billie Jean King Cup and was one of those who reformed Fed Cup to its present state.  She’s still the chairperson of the ITF’s Advantage All committee, whose goal is gender equity in the many leadership positions offered by tennis.

After knee surgery at the end of 2022, getting on the court has been difficult — she’s been too busy. Adams said she’ll dedicate herself to a proper course of rehabilitation. She’s looking forward to hitting balls with the kids at the Harlem Junior Tennis and Education Program, where she’s the executive director.

“That’s where my heartstrings are, that’s my passion,” she said. “We’re reaching back and pulling the next generation forward, raising money to provide opportunities to succeed in life, not just tennis. I grew up in a program very similar to this in Chicago. My focus is raising the funds to provide the best opportunities for tennis, education and wellness for our participants and families.”

It’s a circle-of-life story, an echo of the summer of 1974 when she fell in love with the game. Adams spoke recently at the National Recreation and Park Association convention in Dallas, which drew 8,500 participants. Her message: I was a product of a public parks program; without that I might not be where I am today.

Adams is often asked by youngsters for advice on how to achieve success. A few of her valuable bullet points:

• You’re giving your best, you’re putting your best foot forward — every time you walk into a classroom, every time you walk onto a tennis court. It’s critical that you utilize this time on earth to be your best self.
• Be a good person, be kind — because kindness comes back to you in full.
• Make sure you’re having fun. Because if you’re not having fun it’s going to be very difficult to be successful to enjoy the journey of success.
• Be courageous in your approach, try different things.

Just as important, she said, don’t be afraid to ask questions.

“I feel like I didn’t ask enough questions when I was younger,” Adams said. “Today, because they have Google or Wikipedia, they don’t ask any questions — they go straight to the phone. They’re way smarter than we are.

“Remember, there are no silly questions and be open to advice. Go after your dreams.”