Courts are kind of Blake Strode's thing. 

Blake grew up playing at the Dwight Davis Tennis Center in Forest Park, coached by Carl Walker. By his senior year at Pattonville he was undefeated, 27-0, won the Class 4 state singles title, and graduated valedictorian with a 4.0. 

Arkansas came with a full academic fellowship, not a tennis scholarship. He double-majored in International Economics and Spanish, was runner-up for the Walter Byers Postgraduate Scholarship, a finalist for the SEC Scholar-Athlete of the Year, and received the ITA Arthur Ashe Leadership and Sportsmanship Award at the US Open. 

Speed had always been his greatest strength. But he was in no rush to end his tennis career. When Harvard Law School came calling, Blake deferred. Twice. He won the US Open National Playoffs in 2010 and again in 2011, beating thousands of players each time to earn a spot in the qualifier. Three ITF singles titles. Two doubles titles. 

When he felt he had done his tennis career justice, Harvard was next. He graduated with honors. 

Then Ferguson happened. "It seemed like it was kind of the forefront of a lot of the social justice and racial justice issues I cared about." 

Back in St. Louis, he runs ArchCity Defenders, a civil rights law firm. He helped build the litigation unit from the ground up. More than 50 cases. 40,000 people impacted in the St. Louis region. 

He spent years fighting for himself on the court. Now he fights for people who can't fight for themselves. 

(2024)