Hall of Fame: 2022 Inductees
Virginia Wade
Virginia Wade is a British former professional player and seven-time major champion who has called the greater New York City area her home for the last twenty years. Virginia captured all three of the Grand Slam women’s singles finals that she contested: the 1968 US Open (where she defeated home favorite Billie Jean King), the 1972 Australian Open (where she defeated home favorite Evonne Goolagong) and the 1977 Wimbledon Championships (where, as the home favorite, she came back from a set down to defeat Betty Stove). She was ranked the No. 1 doubles player in the world in 1973, the same year she captured a doubles title at every major except Wimbledon. In 1975 she achieved a career-high singles ranking of world No. 2. By the time she retired in 1986, Virginia had competed at Wimbledon a record 26 times. She was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame in 1989.
Nick Bollettieri
Nick Bollettieri is one of the most renowned tennis coaches in the sport’s history. Born and raised in Pelham, N.Y., Nick began his teaching career in Puerto Rico in the 1960s. During that time, he helped convince Hy Zausner to found the famed Long Island-based Port Washington Tennis Academy so that Nick would have a place to give lessons when he visited the area. In 1977, he established his own self-titled teaching academy in Bradenton, Fla., and the facility would go on to produce a wealth of top tennis talent, including multiple future world No. 1 players and Grand Slam champions. Andre Agassi, Jim Courier, Jelena Jankovic, Mary Pierce, Marcelo Ríos, Monica Seles, Maria Sharapova—and many others—developed and refined their games with guidance from Nick. Nicked worked with several future Eastern Hall of Famers, such as Kathleen Horvath, Jimmy Arias, Pam Casale & Paul Annacone. For his lifetime of service to the sport, Nick was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame in 2014.
Ted Robinson
Ted Robinson is an acclaimed sports broadcaster who has called tennis tournaments for over 20 years. A Rockville Center N.Y.-native, Ted has worked alongside fellow Eastern Tennis Hall of Fame inductees Mary Carillo and John McEnroe in the commentator booth covering both the French Open (since 2000) and Wimbledon (from 2000-2011) for NBC. Over the years he served as the primetime anchor for the US Open on the USA Network, and since 2008 he has led French Open and US Open coverage on the Tennis Channel, where he also lends his voice to other big tournaments in the sport. In addition to his work in tennis, Ted has also called major league baseball and NFL games, as well as multiple events at the Winter and Summer Olympics.
Caroline Stoll
Caroline Stoll is a former professional player who competed on the WTA circuit in the late 1970s and early 1980s. A New Jersey native, Caroline grew up playing tennis in the Eastern Section. She claimed the girls’ 16s Easter Bowl Championship title in 1976 and then lifted the trophy in the girls' 18s division a year later. She turned pro in 1977, facing off against fellow Eastern Tennis Hall of Famer Renee Richards in her first professional match. She’d go on to achieve wins over Wendy Turnbull, Virginia Ruzici, Dianne Fromholtz and Regina Marsikova and capture five singles titles overall, eventually attaining a career-high ranking of world No. 15 in 1979. She retired from the sport in 1981 to attend Rutgers University.
Bob Davis
Robert C. “Bob” Davis is a New York-born, five-time national American Tennis Association (ATA) champion and former executive director of the Black Tennis Hall of Fame. Bob captured the boys’ 18s ATA National Junior Title in 1961 and teamed up with brother (and fellow 2022 Eastern Hall of Fame inductee) Billy a year later to claim the ATA Men’s Doubles Championship. In the late 1980s, Bob helped develop—and then later served as the National Program Director for—the Ashe/Bollettieri Cities program. Eventually known as the Arthur Ashe Safe Passage Foundation, the organization helped introduce the game to over 20,000 children from underserved communities. Over the years Bob would establish two additional organizations with similar objectives. In 2008 he was named the first executive director of the Black Tennis Hall of Fame, whose mission was to commemorate and preserve the history of Black athletes in the game. For all his contributions to the sport, Bob was inducted into the Black Tennis Hall of Fame in 2014.
Billy Davis
Wilbert “Billy” Davis was a tennis trailblazer who captured multiple American Tennis Association (ATA) titles over three decades. Born in New York City, Billy discovered and fell in love with the sport at age 10, when he received the opportunity to work as a ball boy for an ATA National Championship at Harlem's historic Cosmopolitan Tennis Club. He'd eventually go on to collect 11 American Tennis Association national titles of his own and compete at both the US Open and Wimbledon. Billy became a mentor to both Arthur Ashe and Althea Gibson, among countless others, and even spent time as a road manager for Althea’s national tour as she put on tennis exhibitions across the country. In addition to his tireless efforts to grow the game in Black communities, Billy worked at IBM for 27 years, and, as a second career of sorts, was later appointed to serve as New York City’s Associate Commissioner of Parks & Recreation. For all his contributions to the sport, Billy was inducted into the Black Tennis Hall of Fame in 2009. Billy passed away on December 21, 2021 at 91 years old.