TUSKEGEE — Author, Global speaker, and former tennis player and current analyst Katrina Adams will serve as the grand marshal for the 2024 Tuskegee University Tennis Homecoming weekend, where she will be a part of all events scheduled over the two-day span.
Adams is a woman of many firsts. The first African American to lead the United States Tennis Association (USTA), the first two term Chairman and President of said organization and the first former player to hold that honor.
As the youngest person to hold the responsibility of $300 million+ revenue while representing excellence in sport, Adams has showcased her ability to impact, influence and make sound business decisions while navigating a plethora of moving parts and 700,000+ members.
Under her tutelage the USTA achieved several major milestones, including the opening of the 100 court USTA National Campus in Orlando, the strategic transformation of the $600 million USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in Flushing Meadows, N.Y. and an unprecedented outreach effort into underserved communities in an effort to share the sport of tennis with more people.
Having attended Northwestern University and led her team to a Big Ten Championship in 1986 and partnered with Diane Donnelly to win the 1987 NCAA Doubles Championship, Adams learned early on, the importance of teamwork. A familiar face in sports commentary, as a professional player Adams competed for 12 years on the WTA Tour, winning 20 career doubles titles, and reaching the quarterfinals or better in doubles at all four Grand Slam events. By operating at the highest level in sport and business she has been able to lead successive boards in setting clearly defined strategies to further the organizations' missions and ensure that management are afforded the tools needed to execute and excel.
Adams sheer determination and hard work in Tennis, leadership and philanthropy has earned her many accolades including: being named on Adweek magazine's "Most Powerful Women in Sports" list twice (2016 and 2017), Forbes magazine's "Most Powerful Women in Sports" list in 2017 and Ebony magazine's "Power 100" list.
As vice president of the prestigious International Tennis Federation, Chairman of the Billie Jean King Cup Committee, Chairman of the Gender Equality in Tennis Committee and the Executive Director of the Harlem Junior Tennis and Education Program, Adams believes this is just the beginning. She has branched into the private sector as Board Members of Pivotal Acquisition Corp III and GSE Worldwide. She also serves on multiple Advisory Boards; Athletes Unlimited, Highlight Pro Skydiving, Full Court Tennis and Racquet Magazine. Adams served an unprecedented two consecutive terms as USTA Chairman and President and served the board 2005-2020.
Tuskegee Tennis will host a total of three matches during the weekend — one men's match and two women's matches, against Marion Military Institute (women only) and Lagrange — on Friday, March 15 and Saturday, March 16 respectively, at the Pepsico Tennis Courts.
The weekend will begin with a pregame meal between Ms. Adams and the women's tennis team, followed by the 2 p.m. match against Marion Military. Both teams will dine with Ms. Adams for dinner and conclude with her meeting with all student-athletes in Logan Hall, where her book will be presented to the students as a gift from Good Morning America's Robin Roberts.
Saturday will include the parade where Ms. Adams will serve as the Grand Marshal, along with her serving as an honorary captain for the coin toss before the doubleheader. Activities will conclude with a book signing by the Pepsico Tennis Courts, spanning from 12:30 p.m. to 1:30 p.m and a meet and greet dinner hosted by Walter and Barbara Cooper on Saturday on March 16, at 6 p.m. in Montgomery.
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