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Santa Fe, N.M. — A group of International Tennis Hall of Fame members and tennis legends with a combined 152 overall major titles were on hand this past weekend in Santa Fe to help net $1.5 million in proceeds for the First Serve New Mexico Foundation.

The superstar line-up included Hall of Famers and Grand Slam tournament champions Martina Navratilova, Stefanie Graf, Andre Agassi, Mats Wilander, Tracy Austin, and Bob and Mike Bryan. Other former Grand Slam winners were Lukeand Murphy Jensen and Mark Knowles.

Former ATP Tour pros Jan-Michael Gambill, Brad Gilbert, John Isner, Steve Johnson, Brian MacPhie, T.J. Middleton, Nick Monroe, Sam Querrey,  along with Christina and Lauren McHale, and others were also on hand to hit and offer tennis tips to kids at the Forked Lightning Racquet Club on Saturday.

After a morning session with kids from First Serve New Mexico, an entertaining team event followed for over 500 club members.

In the evening, the Legendary Gala was sold out with 700 sponsor and VIP guests attending. The live and silent auctions along with generous donors netted $1.5 million for First Serve New Mexico. Agassi also made a personal donation of $100,000.

“FSNM exceeded their goal this year at our gala and these numbers tell a larger story,” said First Serve New Mexico president Angelique Cook Lowry. “Our mission is to help every student reach their full potential, creating champions on and off the court. With students taking their first steps into competitive tennis, preparing for college, building confidence through mentorship, and discovering opportunities to support with classroom tutoring. This allows us to open up our PE pilot program and our facility program serving more students in the Santa Fe Public Schools.”

Agassi and his wife, Stefanie Graf, were thrilled to be on-hand again in Santa Fe for the second straight year.

“It’s been wonderful and we came here last year and kind of got introduced to the community,” said Graf.  “Andre and I are both involved in different charities and we have our own foundation so we know how important it is to help the younger generation. They are doing it through tennis and with all the incredible players here and we try to encourage them to stay with the sport.”

Agassi praised philanthropists and FSNM board members Scott and Kimberley Sheffield. “This is just so cool and I look at what Scott and Kimberley have done with their lives in order to put themselves in this position to do all this for these kids. Racquet sports not only add a great deal of health and sort of benefit to your life in the short term but it’s proven to extend your life, proven to build self-confidence. It’s a gift to these kids that otherwise wouldn’t have this opportunity, this whole facility, hard not to come support it.”

First-time participant Martina Navratilova, who was given a surprise early birthday greeting from the Bryan Brothers Band, said, “It’s great to see the kids hitting tennis balls and shows how much they love the sport. The program is fantastic and gives kids something to focus on, gives them positive reinforcement and learn lessons from tennis that applies to life. It puts kids on a better path and they also see that people care about them.”

Another first-time event attendee, Mats Wilander, enjoyed seeing the local youth involved in the sport and said it’s important to start at a young age.

“Obviously to see that tennis could make a big impact on kids’ lives, whether they are good players or not, just the fact you learn the etiquette, respect the rules and have a lot of fun,” said Wilander. “This is a sport for a lifetime so you could pick up tennis when you’re young and you could play it until you’re very, very old. Good technique is really hard to come by when you get older but if you learn it as a kid, you’re golden.”

First Serve New Mexico provides an after-school program and summer camp to Santa Fe Public School (SFPS) students, homeschooled students, and charter school students in grades 3-12 across Santa Fe. The programs are at no cost to students or their families thanks to immense organizational fundraising efforts and the generosity of private donors and grantors who support the mission.

Tutoring and tennis instruction is conducted primarily out of the Forked Lightning Racquet Club. Elementary-aged students attend a two-day-per-week program while middle school and high school students attend a four-day-per-week program during the school year.  The unique program combines academic tutoring, life skills coaching, and tennis instruction to create a robust curriculum that prepares the young student athletes for the world.    

First Serve New Mexico was founded in 2003 by philanthropists Eleanor & Richard Brenner. First Serve’s mission is to transform Santa Fe’s students into champions both on and off the court by empowering them to reach their full potential and become lifelong learners and leaders.