Our Mission

Our mission is to foster public health and community development by increasing access to tennis and other sports. Improving lives by enabling opportunities for educational and professional development through recreation.

2024 Initiatives

  • Creating a unified and strong tennis community

    o Build local partnerships with existing tennis clubs and teams

    o Offer free tennis clinics, individual lessons, organized play, and local tournaments for children and adults

    o Host exhibition matches to inspire and showcase local talent and professional tennis opportunities

  • Restore vibrant and healthy use of existing tennis facilities by providing:

    o Development of updated maintenance programs to support sustainable and safe public facilities

    o Support for new events centered around youth and adult programming

    o Host fundraising events and increasing engagement through targeted marketing initiatives

    Avondale Elementary School
  • Raise funding for the restoration of tennis facilities for youth and adult recreation

    o Crestwood Park

    o Avondale Elementary School

    o Jefferson State Community College (for i3 Academy High School)

    o Eastlake Park

Leadership

  • Cedric Burl

    PRESIDENT

  • Caleb Taylor

    VICE PRESIDENT

  • Cornell Allen Wesley

    CHIEF ADVISOR

  • Kim Nguyen

    EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

The NTCA serves as a voice for underserved tennis communities through community engagement opportunities to increase public awareness and involvement in community park developments.

Our Key Priorities

NTCA is rebuilding communities through growing tennis and sports programs for underserved communities.

  • Serve underserved and urban communities to provide tennis resources to the public such as tennis clinics, coaching, events, and local tournaments for children and adults

  • Support economic development by partnering with industry, municipalities, and peer organizations to promote tennis in targeted communities

  • Support development, maintenance and access to public tennis courts for underserved local communities by partnering with existing tennis community associations, community partners, and local government

Our Story

A group of neighborhood tennis players in Birmingham, Alabama discovered that the tennis courts at a neighborhood park were at risk to be completely repurposed without representative engagement to the neighborhoods affected and to residents that use the park. We saw a need to provide representation to protect access to tennis in a fight against inequity and discrimination.

NTCA believes that proper representation and engagement within communities is needed to understand true impacts to the local communities being served. Now, we are motivated more than ever to fight for access to tennis in areas where access to recreation is needed most.

NTCA believes growing access to the sport of tennis provides immeasurable benefits to a community in terms of opportunities for youth, families, and entire communities to have a sport that truly fosters the breakdown of systemic cultural barriers that still exist today between social class, race, age, origin, and orientation.