Katrina M. Adams (born August 5, 1968) is an American tennis executive and former professional

tennis Tennis is a racket sport that is played either individually against a single opponent ( singles) or between two teams of two players each ( doubles). Each player uses a tennis racket that is strung with cord to strike a hollow rubber ball ...

player from

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

. She was president and CEO of the

United States Tennis Association The United States Tennis Association (USTA) is the national governing body for tennis in the United States. A not-for-profit organization with more than 700,000 members, it invests 100% of its proceeds to promote and develop the growth of tennis, ...

and chair of the US Open, as well as the chair of the

International Tennis Federation The International Tennis Federation (ITF) is the governing body of world tennis, wheelchair tennis, and beach tennis. It was founded in 1913 as the International Lawn Tennis Federation by twelve national tennis associations. As of 2016, there a ...

Fed Cup and Gender Equality in Tennis committees. As a player, Adams was a doubles specialist, reaching the quarterfinal stage or better at all four Grand Slams as well as achieving a career-high doubles ranking of no. 8 (August 1989). Her book, ''Own the Arena: Getting Ahead, Making a Difference, and Succeeding as the Only One'' was published in 2021.

Early life

Adams joined a tennis program on Chicago's

West Side West Side or Westside may refer to: Places Canada * West Side, a neighbourhood of Windsor, Ontario * West Side, a neighbourhood of Vancouver, British Columbia United Kingdom * West Side, Lewis, Outer Hebrides, Scotland * Westside, Birmingham E ...

when she was six years old. She attended Whitney Young High School, becoming

Illinois High School Association The Illinois High School Association (IHSA) is an association that regulates competition of interscholastic sports and some interscholastic activities at the high school level for the state of Illinois. It is a charter member of the National Fed ...

the first Chicago Public School and first African American singles champion in 1983 and 1984. While attending

Northwestern University Northwestern University is a private research university in Evanston, Illinois. Founded in 1851, Northwestern is the oldest chartered university in Illinois and is ranked among the most prestigious academic institutions in the world. Charte ...

, she won the

National Collegiate Athletic Association The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges an ...

(NCAA) doubles title with Diane Donnelly in 1987, and was twice voted

All-America The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed upon an amateur sports person from the United States who is considered to be one of the best amateurs in their sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an All-Am ...

Results

Adams won seven of her 20 WTA doubles titles between 1987 and 1996 partnering

Zina Garrison Zina Lynna Garrison (born November 16, 1963) is an American former professional tennis player. Garrison was the runner-up in singles at the 1990 Wimbledon Championships, a three-time major mixed doubles champion, and an Olympic gold and bronze m ...

, including the

1988 World Doubles Championships The 1988 World Doubles Championships was a women's tennis tournament played on indoor carpet courts in Tokyo in Japan and was part of the 1988 WTA Tour. The tournament ran from 25 November through 27 November 1988. Winners Women's doubles Kat ...

. Her best Grand Slam singles result was in the

1988 Wimbledon Championships The 1988 Wimbledon Championships was a tennis tournament played on grass courts at the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club in Wimbledon, London in the United Kingdom. It was the 102nd edition of the Wimbledon Championships and were held from ...

when she reached the fourth round, losing to

Chris Evert Christine Marie Evert (born December 21, 1954), known as Chris Evert Lloyd from 1979 to 1987, is an American former world No. 1 tennis player. Evert won 18 major singles titles, including a record seven French Open titles and a joint-record ...

5–7, 6–3, 6–0. The same year, she was Wimbledon doubles semifinalist with Zina Garrison.

Awards

Adams twice won the annual

WTA Player Service Award This article lists the WTA Awards given by the Women's Tennis Association to players and coaches for achievements during a season or their careers. Player of the Year Doubles Team of the Year Most Improved Player Newcomer of the Yea ...

in 1996 and 1997.

Post-retirement

Adams has been a television commentator for the

Tennis Channel Tennis Channel is an American sports-oriented digital cable and satellite television network owned by the Sinclair Television Group subsidiary of the Sinclair Broadcast Group. It is devoted to events and other programming related to the game of ...

since 2003, a regular contributor to

CBS Sports Network CBS Sports Network (a.k.a. CBSSN) is an American pay television network owned by the CBS Entertainment Group unit of Paramount Global. When it launched in 2002 as the National College Sports Network (later College Sports Television also known as ...

all-female sports panel ''We Need to Talk'' and is also an executive director of the Harlem Junior Tennis and Education Program. In January 2015, Adams became President, Chairman and CEO of the United States Tennis Association, becoming the first former professional tennis player, first

African-American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American ...

and the youngest person to serve as President in the 135-year history of the organisation. In 2016, Adams became Chairperson of the International Tennis Federation (ITF) Fed Cup committee, which governs the

Fed Cup The Billie Jean King Cup (or the BJK Cup) is the premier international team competition in women's tennis, launched as the Federation Cup in 1963 to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the International Tennis Federation (ITF). The name was cha ...

. Adams also serves on the board of directors for the

International Tennis Hall of Fame The International Tennis Hall of Fame is located in Newport, Rhode Island, United States. It honors both players and other contributors to the sport of tennis. The complex, the former Newport Casino, includes a museum, grass tennis courts, an indo ...

WTA Tour finals

Singles 2 (0–2)

Doubles 36 (22–14)

ITF Finals

Singles (1–1)

Doubles (8–3)

Performance timelines

Singles

Doubles

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Adams, Katrina 1968 births Living people African-American female tennis players American female tennis players Northwestern Wildcats women's tennis players Sportspeople from Bradenton, Florida People from White Plains, New York Tennis people from Florida Tennis players from Chicago Tennis people from New York (state) Whitney M. Young Magnet High School alumni African-American sports executives and administrators American sports executives and administrators African-American tennis coaches Universiade medalists in tennis Tennis commentators Women tennis executives Universiade bronze medalists for the United States Medalists at the 1987 Summer Universiade Medalists at the 1991 Summer Universiade Medalists at the 1993 Summer Universiade 21st-century African-American people 21st-century African-American women 20th-century African-American sportspeople 20th-century African-American women