THE EPICENTER OF CENTER COURT
St. Louis' Best Kept Secret. Until Now.
Dwight Davis Memorial Tennis Center during a St. Louis ACES match
St. Louis is a baseball town. A soccer city. We bleed blue. But spend five minutes with our tennis history and you'll wonder why more people aren't talking tennis.
If you've picked up a racket in St. Louis, you've probably played at Dwight Davis Tennis Center in Forest Park. But you might not know the man behind the name.
Dwight Davis wasn't just a tennis player. He invented the overhead smash. Created the Davis Cup, a team competition so big that 130 countries now compete for it. Then he came home, yanked every “Keep off the Grass” sign out of every public park, and built the first free public courts in America. He didn't just change the game. He changed who got to play it.
Arthur Ashe came here for opportunity. And St. Louis didn't disappoint. His teacher Richard Hudlin took him in like a son and trained him like a champion. Ashe won Wimbledon, the U.S. Open, and kept fighting even after he stepped off the court. Living and playing in St. Louis isn't just a footnote in his legacy. It's where his story really begins.
Every court-hopping, autograph-hounding, practice-court-squatting, tennis fan has Butch Buchholz to thank. Once upon a time, the world's best players weren't allowed to play Wimbledon, the U.S. Open, or any Grand Slam. Butch was one of the Handsome Eight who changed everything. Young, charismatic and stylish, they took the court in colorful clothing, played with neon yellow balls, and introduced the tiebreaker. Their modern style was made for television. They earned guaranteed contracts and real prize money, stripped the establishment of its best talent, and forced open the Open Era.
A career-ending injury didn't stop Butch. He found a way to serve. He brought the tour to St. Louis. Then built the Miami Open from scratch, exactly the way he always imagined it. Two weeks. Men and women. Live music. Gourmet food. Today it draws 420,000 spectators. Many consider it tennis' fifth grand slam. Remarkable for a man who spent years fighting just to play in one.
There are dozens more. Coaches. Champions. Innovators. Promoters. Facilities that changed everything. Stories that have never been told outside of St. Louis. And some that have never been told at all.
The St. Louis Tennis Hall of Fame is building a permanent home for all of it. We've been the best kept secret in tennis for long enough. It's time everybody knew.
Arthur Ashe, Richard Hudlin & Juan Farrow at the Armory
WHO WE HONOR
The Pioneer
Dwight F. Davis founded the Davis Cup, pulled the “Keep off the Grass” signs out of public parks and invited the world to come play.
The Icon
Arthur Ashe won Wimbledon and the US Open. Then he became a voice for justice that went far beyond tennis. When he wasn't fighting for every point, he was fighting a system designed to keep him down. And he won.
The Promoter
Some of the biggest moments in St. Louis tennis happened off the court. Over beers, across boardroom tables, and in living rooms, where a handful of visionaries came together to bring the world's best players to St. Louis.
The Innovator
Ed Serrano invented the ball machine and mechanical racket stringer. Everyone uses them. Nobody knows they were invented here.
The Armory
Other tennis hotbeds had one advantage over St. Louis. Year-round sunshine. The Armory changed that. Five indoor courts with fast wooden floors where every great player in the city trained side by side, all winter long. When tournament time came, they were ready.