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Midtown Tennis Celebrates 40 Years

CHICAGO — The club that started a tennis revolution in Chicago, has welcomed celebs from Billie Jean King to Elton John, and was the site of Andre Agassi’s first USTA junior tournament victory at the age of 12, is celebrating its 40th anniversary.

“Many standards for indoor tennis construction were established here at Midtown”

Opened October 16, 1970, Midtown Tennis Club was the world’s first and largest indoor tennis facility built from the ground up specifically for tennis. Fast forward to October 16, 2010, when Midtown marks 40 years with day-long festivities including a charity pro-am benefitting Chicago’s Tennis Opportunity Program and an evening celebration featuring some of the biggest names in the world of professional tennis.

Among the more than 1,000 guests expected that evening are legendary tennis announcer Bud Collins, current U.S. Davis Cup Team Captain and ESPN analyst Patrick McEnroe, and 21-time doubles Grand Slam champion Pam Shriver. Brad Gilbert and brothers Murphy and Luke Jensen will participate in that afternoon’s Tennis Opportunity Program pro-am.

“Many standards for indoor tennis construction were established here at Midtown,” explains Vice President and General Manager Michael Mahoney. “Through the years, this club has played an important role in improving the quality of tennis through refining techniques in lighting, space planning and even the invention of Tennis Turf — a surface that cushions the body while offering a true tennis bounce.”

Recognized as one of the top facilities of its kind in the country, Midtown Tennis Club has some of country’s top teaching professionals and offers private and group tennis instruction as well as cutting edge adult and junior programs including Cardio Tennis, the Junior Development Pathway, as well as the patented Tennis in No Time® (TNT) - a revolutionary program that has taught more than 75,000 beginners to play the game since 1972.

Tennis legends and celebrities who have visited and played at Midtown include Venus Williams, Andy Roddick, Sting, Harrison Ford, Arthur Ashe, John McEnroe, Yannick Noah, Boris Becker, Stan Smith and many others.

Located at 2020 W. Fullerton in Chicago, Midtown Tennis Club is one of 10 Midtown Athletic Clubs - North America’s premier tennis and fitness clubs. For more information visit midtown.com/chicago or call (773) 235-2300.

Posted on October 6, 2010
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