Winners of 68 Pro Titles Are Newest Additions to Advisory Coaching Team, Joining King, McEnroe, Courier, and Martin
WHITE PLAINS, N.Y., January 21, 2003 – Eliot Teltscher, Director of Tennis Operations, USA Tennis High Performance today named Tracy Austin and Zina Garrison as Special Advisors to the USA Tennis High Performance program. Austin, a two-time US Open champion, and Garrison, the Olympic gold medallist and Wimbledon finalist, will provide regular input on the direction of the program, identifying top prospects and providing assistance in training. The USA Tennis High Performance program is charged with creating the optimal environment and competitive system to support America’s top prospects and facilitate the development of world-class American tennis champions.
Austin and Garrison are the latest additions to the USA Tennis High Performance advisory team, joining U.S. Fed Cup Captain Billie Jean King, U.S. Davis Cup Captain Patrick McEnroe, U.S. Davis Cup Coach Jim Courier, and USA Tennis High Performance player-coach Todd Martin.
“Tracy’s and Zina’s commitment to serve as advisors for the USA Tennis High Performance program provides yet another opportunity for the next generation of American champions to train under some of America’s greatest champions,” said Teltscher. “The addition of Tracy and Zina expands the breadth and depth of our effort and is demonstrative of the momentum we are building in the USA Tennis High Performance program.”
“Tracy and Zina provide a unique perspective as former players that will assist us in providing our country’s best juniors the tools needed to develop from top sectional-level players into world-class competitors,” said Rick Ferman, USTA Executive Director and Chief Operating Officer. “They are two people who continue to give back to the sport.”
Austin won 30 professional singles titles during her career, including two US Open crowns (1979, 1981) and the season-ending tour championships four times. In 1980, she became the youngest woman to earn the world No. 1 ranking at the age of 17 years, three months. That year, she also won the mixed doubles title with her brother John at Wimbledon, making them the only brother-sister pair to win title in the history of The Championships. She retired in July 1994. The youngest inductee into the International Tennis Hall of Fame, Austin does tennis commentary for USA Network and Fox Sports and has also worked for NBC Sports and ABC Sports.
“I am very excited to be part of the new USA Tennis High Performance team,” said Austin. “I look forward to sharing my experiences on the tour with the next class of American champions.”
Garrison began her second consecutive two-year term as Director at Large on the USTA Board this month and is in her fifth year as U.S. Fed Cup Coach. During her 15-year career, which ended in 1997, Garrison won 14 singles titles and 30 doubles titles, including the mixed doubles at Wimbledon in 1988 and at the Australian Open in 1989, both with partner Sherwood Stewart. At the 1988 Olympics in Seoul, she won the bronze medal in singles and the gold medal in doubles with partner and current USA Tennis Foundation President Pam Shriver. She reached the singles final at Wimbledon in 1990, losing to Martina Navratilova. A long-time activist for inner-city youth, Garrison achieved a lifelong dream in 1991 with the opening of The Zina Garrison All-Court Tennis Academy, which continues to be one of the leading youth programs of its kind. She also serves on the Houston 2012 Sports Foundation Board and the President’s Fitness Council.
“The future of American tennis looks very bright. We have several young professionals with great promise and a group of talented juniors with high aspirations,” said Garrison. “I look forward to working with the best prospects in American tennis.”
The USA Tennis High Performance program features enhanced coaches education programs, top supplemental coaching and training, international junior competition and USTA Pro Circuit and tour events. This summer the USA Tennis High Performance will begin operations at a new state-of-the-are national training center in Carson, Calif. The new facility complements the USA Tennis High Performance Headquarters at the Tennis Center at Crandon Park in Key Biscayne, Fla., giving the program a significant presence in two of the sport’s hotbed developmental markets, Southern California and Florida.
The United States Tennis Association is the national governing body for the sport of tennis in the United States and is a non-profit organization with more than 660,000 members. It owns and operates the US Open and selects the teams that compete in Davis Cup, Fed Cup and the Olympic and Paralympic Games. It invests all its resources to promote and develop the growth of tennis, from the grass roots to the professional levels.