Tennis programs receive USTA Collegiate Community Hub Grant

Randolph College recently received a Collegiate Community Hub Award and grant from the United States Tennis Association (USTA) and the Intercollegiate Tennis Association. 

The Collegiate Community Hub Initiative, launched in 2021, encourages colleges and universities to open their tennis facilities to the public. Grant funding—$7,500 in Randolph’s case—is provided to assist with some of the increased costs of operating a public facility. 

“I want to ingrain Randolph College more into our local tennis community,” said head coach Sam Martinez. “That always starts at the youth level by getting kids into your facility so that they can start to see their own development.”

Martinez saw the need after hosting a tournament for high schoolers last summer. 

“We had 17 high school and college-age kids come out and compete for a one-day tournament, and the response could not have been more positive,” he said. “Many of the parents asked if we could host tournaments and clinics much more regularly, which put the initial thought in my head.” 

The more he looked into the grant, the more he realized it aligned with programming they were already offering, including hosting high school matches and offering tennis as a PE course Randolph students can take. 

Now, with the grant’s support, they’ll add adult programming and initiate a series of youth clinics, tournaments, and lessons on the court. 

Starting this summer, Randolph will host USTA-sanctioned junior singles and doubles tournaments for kids of all ability levels throughout the year; an adult league on Tuesday and Thursday evenings; red ball junior clinics for kids 10 and younger; and private or group lessons for juniors and adults. 

The College joins a network of other institutions that operate as Collegiate Community Hubs. Since the grant’s inception in 2021, more than 400 new tennis courts have been made available to the public, spanning all three NCAA divisions, as well as NAIA and junior colleges. 

“I’m really looking forward to getting everything going for a fun summer of tennis for the community,” Martinez said. “There are very few public facilities in Southwest Virginia that have eight courts like we do, so it gives us a lot of flexibility to host a lot of different types of events.”