Roddick Tennis Center holding court at grand opening Jan. 7
Former Marble Falls Middle School teacher and coach Nancy Herrington plays in front of the net that bears the names of her and her husband, former Hidden Falls Country Club tennis pro Charlie Herrington, at one of the two new regulation-size tennis courts at the Andy Roddick Foundation Tennis Center in Granite Shoals on Dec. 18. A grand opening for the center is Jan. 7 Staff photos by Jennifer Fierro
JENNIFER FIERRO • PICAYUNE STAFF
GRANITE SHOALS — The grand opening of the Roddick Tennis Center in Granite Shoals is expected to be an overhead smash Jan. 7.
The community, however, will have the advantage when the two regulation courts at the center, 2221 N. Phillips Ranch Road, are officially open for use.
Members of professional tennis player Andy Roddick’s family have been invited to speak at the event, which starts at 3:45 p.m. The Roddick Tennis Center was made possible because of the Roddick Youth Tennis Foundation, which gave a $64,000 matching grant in September. Roddick, a former U.S. Open tennis champion, created the foundation.
The cost of the two courts was about $145,000. The courts’ surfaces, Plexicushion, is made by Plexipave and is not concrete but a softer shock-aborbing material. The company’s surface also is found at the Australian Open and the Indian Wells Masters in California.
For many people, particularly Dave Holder of the Roddick Youth Tennis Foundation, the grand opening is the culmination of three years of hard work to complete the center. Holder and the foundation built QuickStart tennis courts, which have smaller dimensions than regular-size courts, for an after-school youth tennis program.
Then, they went to work on building the two regulation courts.
Those two are the first of 16 courts. Granite Shoals officials also want to use another building next to the courts for a soccer field as well as volleyball and basketball courts.
“I believe what’s important for Granite Shoals is we are trying to give a variety of activities to our residents,” Granite Shoals City Manager Ken Nickel said. “We’re looking at opportunities for other grants for our children and residents.”
He said having more recreational opportunities would not be possible without the Roddick Tennis Center in Granite Shoals
jfierro@thepicayune.com
