If There’s a Future for American Tennis It May Be Found in Inner City Youth--Ashe

Former Wimbledon champion Arthur Ashe says the future of American tennis may lie with city youngsters.

“We believe that there is a vast sea of untapped talent in the inner city, and that with proper training and supervision, their skills can be honed to compete with the greats of the world of tennis,” he said in a statement.

Ashe and Nick Bollettieri, head of a Florida tennis training academy, will recruit and train coaches for the program from the city’s recreation department and public school physical education teachers. The project is said to be the first of its kind in the nation.

“America is on the downslide in international tennis competition we feel that the inner-city community has been overlooked in the training and recruitment of potential world-class players,” Ashe said.

Ashe and Bollettieri announced the program along with Mayor Sharpe James, a former New Jersey senior tennis champion, at Newark’s West Side Park tennis courts. Three Essex County parks, including West Side, Weequahic and Branch Brook, and the city’s Jesse Allen Park will be used for the program.

James called the program a “wonderful opportunity for Newark’s young people,” saying that the “discipline and etiquette of the game easily transfer over to the conduct of our daily life.”

“Tennis is a sport that requires great skills both physically and intellectually,” James said. “Even the many of us who engage in the game merely for its recreational benefits find that it enhances our total development.”

The program will be administered through the Newark public school system and the recreation department. Ashe and Bollettieri hope to launch similar programs across the country.