The Tennis Hall of Fame Open and Enshrinement Weekend was a tennis fan’s dream last week. Coming just after Wimbledon concluded, Newport paid homage to the greatest of the sport in the revered grounds of the International Tennis Hall of Fame (ITHF), with legends of the game Chris Evert, Martina Navratilova, Andre Agassi, Stan Smith, Tracy Austin, The Original Nine’s Rosemary Casals and Rick Draney all in attendance.
From the entranceway that features the Fred Perry statue (twin to the original at Wimbledon)—dedicated to the All England Lawn and Tennis Club marvel who won 8 grand slams, including three back-to-back Wimbledons—to the TeamFAME headquarters, it was a week of Newport showing off why the heart of tennis lies right here in New England, home to the original U.S. Open. Here are all the highlights we took in during the Hall of Fame Open and Enshrinement Weekend.
The tournament goes on
Last year’s news of the ATP getting rid of ATP 250 tournaments was devastating for the Hall of Fame Open, a unique grass tournament held directly after Wimbledon. However, the organization retooled and viewed the news not as a loss, but as a chance to offer something new. New ITHF President Patrick McEnroe spoke about bringing back women to the competition, and a year and a half later, he made good on his word.
At a press conference on Wednesday, July 17, McEnroe, alongside ITHF CEO Dan Faber, Hall of Fame Open Tournament Director Brewer Rowe, Melissa Pine, Vice President, WTA 125 Operations, and Eric Lamquet, Director, ATP Challenger Tour, unveiled the new Hall of Fame Open coming in 2025. The event will transition to the now become ATP Challenger 125 and WTA 125 level tournaments.
Continuing to make history, the Hall of Fame Open will become the first combined men’s and women’s 125-level event in the United States, with equal prize money.
“The Hologic WTA Tour is excited to return to Newport for the first time in nearly 25 years,” said Pine. “As one of tennis’ most iconic venues, the International Tennis Hall of Fame is the perfect location to extend the grass season for our players. We are proud to work with the ITHF on this incredible opportunity for both organizations.”
Inductees had incredible connections
The three Class of 2024 honorees Leander Paes, Vijay Amritraj, Richard Evans sat down with ITHF co-Presidents Patrick McEnroe and Kim Clijsters (via Zoom) and CEO Dan Faber in a press conference held at the Casino Theatre on Thursday, July 18.
It was incredible to listen to the legends talk about their legacy.
“On the 12th of May, 1986, I walked up to [Evans] as an 11-year-old and I stuck my hand out and I said, ‘Pleasure to meet you, Mr. Evans, I’m Leander Paes.’
He goes, ‘What are you here for?’
“I was, ‘I want to emulate my father in winning an Olympic medal,’” Paes said.
“Mr. Evans turned to me and said to this young 11-year-old kid, ‘If you work hard enough, you might even get into the International Tennis Hall of Fame.’
“Well, here we are.”
Just amazing stuff.
TeamFAME headquarters named after Chris Evert
Also on Thursday it was announced that the TeamFAME headquarters, formerly the Canfield House building, was renamed the Chris Evert Learning Center, in honor of her contributions to grassroots youth tennis and education initiatives.
Evert and ITHF leadership were joined on court by Hall of Famers Navratilova, Clijsters, Smith, Tracy Austin, Casals, Draney, the Class of 2024 (Amritraj, Evans and Paes), TeamFAME student-athletes, ESPN commentator Chris McKendry and ITHF supporter Nora McNeely Hurley of the Manitou Fund.
“Her dedication to developing tennis and education programming has positively impacted countless kids and their families across the country. The ITHF is fortunate to work with the Manitou Fund to inspire youth in our community and around the world through the Chris Evert Learning Center,” said Faber.
Class of 2024 gets inducted in historic ceremony
Enshrinement Weekend proved why it really is a bucket list item for any tennis fan. On the grounds of Newport, the first honorees from India, former doubles world No. 1 Leander Paes and broadcaster and promoter Vijay Amritraj, were inducted into the ITHF alongside renowned journalist and writer Richard Evans in a ceremony. The event this year took place on the Sipsmith Lawn rather than the Front Lawn Courts, where it’s been in the past, an improved space, IMO. It was a beautiful event full of moving speeches including Prakash Amritraj, who introduced his father, Vijay Amritraj and Navratilova introducing Paes, her mixed doubles partner.
“I think Leander played tennis how most of us would like to play and the fun really starts when he comes to the net,” said Navratilova. “He has reflexes like a leopard and runs every ball down if he can and if he can’t he dives for it. The passion the man has for the sport is indescribable.”
There really is no other ceremony in tennis quite like this.
Around the grounds
For tennis fans, walking around the illustrious grounds of the ITHF is an incredible experience, and this year didn’t disappoint.
We spotted Andre Agassi on the grass courts and his game looked as great as ever.
We also ran into Hall of Famer Paes before the ceremony on Saturday, where he was having fun with friends and family.
We interviewed Hall of Fame finalist Alex Michelson, who made the final for the second year in a row. He talked about being a fan of Newport’s Cliff Walk.
The finals
We also got an all-American final with Michelson and Marcos Giron. It was a nail-biter, with Giron taking the match to three sets after Michelson had sat with championship point. Giron won his first ATP title in the tournament’s last iteration of an ATP 250. What a breakthrough for the 30-year-old, just three days shy of his birthday.
Andre Goransson and Sam Verbeek won the doubles title in two sets, 6-3, 6-4.
The weather all week blessed the tournament. ITHF will close later in the fall, for its multimillion renovation project.
it will re-open in 2025 and will surely be back better than ever. It truly has been a year of magical change for the venue.
