RICHMOND, Va. — Carlos Alcaraz, of Spain, won Wimbledon on Sunday, but there may be a future tennis champion right here in Richmond thanks to a history-making man Wimbledon champ from the past.
Located only three miles from Arthur Ashe's Monument Avenue memorial are the Battery Park tennis courts, where Ashe honed his tennis skills at an early.
Ashe is the only Black tennis player to win both Wimbledon and the U.S. Open.
He left a huge impact on the Richmond tennis community, something local players want to embrace every way they can.
"Everybody has a buy in," Ashe's nephew David Harris Jr. said.
The courts where Ashe first learned the game recently underwent renovations, and players took to them last week during the second of four Tennis Under the Lights events.
The event featured games, a clinic and a round robin tournament to commemorate Ashe's birthday and the 51st anniversary of his Wimbledon victory.
While the event may have celebrated Ashe and his numerous achievements, Harris Jr. said it was more about developing the next generation of tennis players.
"Giving to the community and being philanthropic at the same time and advocating for inner-city tennis and tennis in general in the metro Richmond area," Harris Jr. said.
Proceeds from the event— which first took place in 2019 — go toward tennis development through the Richmond Tennis Association and Metro Richmond Tennis Club.
Harris Jr. said that it's events like these that carry on the legacy Ashe left behind.
"It's very important from an historical standpoint," Harris Jr. said. "The other aspect of it is that we can copy the model that he left."
Richmond Parks and Recreation is hosting two more Tennis Under the Lights events, on July 25 and August 8.
Find out more information at tennisunderthelightsrva.com.
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