OPTA Blog

By Mike Holder: Imagine hosting a tournament in which players who accounted for 18 career singles grand slam titles competed for the championship. In the modern era, that type of draw would typically only be seen at a major or perhaps a Masters 1000 tournament.  However, from April 17–22, 1973, that is exactly what occurred at Olde Providence Racquet Club. It was the third edition of the North Carolina National Bank Tennis Classic (also known as the Charlotte or Carolinas Tennis Classic), and greats such as Arthur Ashe, Ken Rosewall, Tony Roche, Fred Stolle, Roscoe Tanner, Tom Okker, and Jan Kodes competed in the 32-man draw. The tournament was part of the World Championship Tennis circuit which was divided into two groups of players who competed in eleven tournaments each, from January through May. The top four players would go on to compete in the season-ending Finals. The remainder of the year, players would migrate to the Grand Prix Circuit, which was managed by the Internation...

By Mike Holder: Tim Wilkison had a long and successful career on the tour which included 6 career singles titles and 10 doubles. He had wins against all-time greats such as Arthur Ashe, Boris Becker, Jim Courier, John McEnroe, Andre Agassi, and Pete Sampras to name a few.   The Shelby, NC native competed in tournaments around the world including all four grand slams. He was once the number one ranked junior in the United States and would reach a career-high singles ranking of 23 in 1986 as a pro. Wilkison earned the nickname “Dr. Dirt” due to his aggressive, never give up on a point mentality. He is often remembered for his diving volleys on the iconic grass courts of Wimbledon. Since retiring from the tour, Wilkison has coached players of all skill levels for more than 25 years. What was the most memorable match or event of your playing career?    I would say that the matches held at Grand Slam events are the most memorable.  Regular tour events are fairly generic,...

By Mike Holder: Keith Richardson was born, raised, and still resides in Rock Hill, S.C. He played number one at Appalachian State University (1971-1975) and won the Southern Conference Tournament 3 times (‘73, ‘74, ‘75) at that position. He met his wife, Marilyn, at ASU and the couple recently celebrated their 46th anniversary. They have two children and two grandchildren. After college, Keith played four years on the ATP and USTA Pro Tour (1976-1979). He would become Head Pro at Benvenue Country Club in Rocky Mount and in 1983  joined Wilkinson Bulluck & Co. in the same city. In 1993, he became part of BB&T Insurance Services, retiring in 2009 before returning to Rock Hill where he joined Peoples First Insurance, specializing in Commercial Insurance and Risk Management. After 32 years in the insurance industry, he retired for good. As a retirement gift to himself, Richardson joined Olde Providence so he could play every day against the best players in the country and becam...

  By Mike Holder: Andy grew up in Winston-Salem and was introduced to tennis by legendary Wake Forest coach Jim Leighton. He would end up playing for Coach Leighton at WFU. Then, after college, he played professionally, taught tennis in the US and Germany, became an assistant coach at Clemson, head Coach at McCallie school, and assistant coach at Wake Forest.  While an assistant coach at Wake Forest, Andy went to law school and has been practicing law for 30 years.  He joined Olde Providence in 1997 and loves all racket sports including tennis, ping pong, paddle, and pickleball. He, also, enjoys biking and hiking and is looking forward to getting back to all of these activities following recent ankle replacement surgery.  Andy and his wife Tammy have two children, Ally and Gabe. His oldest son Tucker passed away in 2011 and they hold the Tucker Leighton Avram tennis clinics in his honor spearheaded and founded by Pender Murphy. Please visit tlatennis.com for more in...

By Mike Holder: Billy Wilkinson began his career in professional tennis traveling the world as a touring player. Later, after becoming a coach, he quickly made an impact on the WTA Tour, finding success prior to the age of 30. Working with the International Tennis Association, he became a National Women’s coach for both the LTA (Great Britain) and Tennis Australia. He was a coach/hitting partner with notable players such as Peng Shuai, Jenny Hopkins, Venus Williams, and Serena Williams early in his coaching career. Wilkinson would go on to coach many top players such as US Open semi-finalist Yanina Wickmayer, top-10 Johanna Konta, top-25 Jarmila Gajdosova, and top-50 Heather Watson, to name a few. He returned to Olde Providence Racquet Club where he received his very first tennis lesson as a kid. Billy discussed playing and coaching tennis, the impact that the sport can have on an individual, and more: What made you decide to become a coach? Was there a particular moment where you knew...

By Mike Holder: Reese Sager began training at Olde Providence Tennis Academy in 2016. She has seen her game progressively improve over the last five years. Tennisrecruiting.com lists her as a five-star recruit and the 3rd ranked player in North Carolina, 18th in the southeast, at her age. The 15-year-old recently found success winning the Girls’ 18 Singles Red Draw at Charleston (S.C.) Junior Championships. However, her success has not come without its share of adversity. Evgeny Slesarev (Director of Tennis Operations at Olde Providence Tennis Academy) reflected on obstacles Sager has overcome. “Reese was always a top-ranked player but has had to overcome challenges with quite a few serious injuries and setbacks. Two years ago she almost quit tennis due to a rotator cuff injury but she did not. Instead, she switched to two hands on both sides to keep the impact of her injury to a minimum. Not surprisingly, due to her competitive nature, she was able to return to National Levels a year ...

By Mike Holder: The year was 1971. The venue was Julian J. Clark Stadium at Olde Providence Racquet Club. Less than a decade after breaking ground, Cliff Turner, and the founding members’ goal of bringing world-class tennis to the club were realized as it played host to the Davis Cup Final between the United States and Romania. And while the club had seen elite-level players such as Arthur Ashe, Chrissie Evert, and Tony Roche (to name a few) come through prior to the tie, nothing could match the prestigious competition that took place from October 8-10, 1971. Davis Cup was founded in 1900 and carries with it a sense of national pride, much like the Olympics, where it is an honor for participants to compete for their respective countries. Interestingly, from 1937- 1973, the title went to either the United States or Australia which speaks to the rich talent pool from those countries during that time period. Legendary Australians such as Roche, John Newcombe, Roy Emerson, Fred Stolle, and...