“I would not be the person I am today if it weren’t for tennis,” Ed Emmett stated.
“Being on a tennis court builds confidence, shapes your ability to think fast and to handle difficult situations. It also teaches you how to lose,” he continued.
An avid player at age 75, he wants to make sure that others can have the opportunity to benefit from the game and has spearheaded the creation of the Public Parks Tennis Foundation to support the development and maintenance of tennis facilities and services in the Houston area’s public parks.
The foundation’s goal is to help local governments make a high-quality tennis experience available to the widest range of residents so they, too, can develop a love of the game that will last a lifetime.
In addition to Emmett, board members are Zach Davis, executive vice president and chief financial officer of Cheniere Energy; Janis Burke, chief executive officer of the Harris County/Houston Sports Authority; Marian Harper, vice president of foundation development and player engagement and family relations for the Houston Astros; and Dennis Pullin, president and chief executive officer of Virtua Health.
The foundation is in its nascent fund-raising and development stages, sending out solicitation letters to known donors and is planning a major event in the near future.
“We certainly want to help improve the major tennis centers,” Emmett said, “but my personal interest is in improving the many neighborhood parks with things such as better nets, backboards and courts reserved for tennis only.”
Emmett’s passion for the public courts stems from his own introduction to grassroots tennis and his growing appreciation of its life lessons.
He grew up in Tyler, Texas, playing pick-up games with friends on the public courts there. “And I must have hit a thousand balls a day off the neighbor’s brick wall.
“When I was 12, I read about the East Texas Open coming to Tyler. I thought I knew how to play so I entered, showing up in blue jeans and a T-shirt. My first opponent was a kid from Shreveport with multiple racquets and a coach in the stands. He, of course, annihilated me.”
Texas Tennis Hall of Famer and coach Bill Lust, who helped develop the Tyler tennis program, was in the stands observing the game and told Ed not to quit.
He didn’t and got to be, in his own words, “a decent player.” When the family moved to Houston, Ed found time to hit on the long-gone courts at Hermann Park with anyone who showed up. Later, he worked with the legendary Lee LeClear at MacGregor Park. Ed improved enough to make the Bellaire High School tennis team where he won a district championship in doubles.
When he entered Rice University he qualified for the Rice team as the last player.
“But I never got to play for the team because those were the years that guys like Mike Estep and Zan Guerry were dominant. Just being able to practice with them was a joy.”
He served as the head pro at Golfcrest Country Club for a year and a half before entering graduate school at the University of Texas for a degree in public affairs, which developed into service in the Texas House of Representatives, as Commissioner on the Interstate Commerce Commission, as Harris County Judge and currently as a Fellow at the Baker Institute at Rice University.
As a product of the public courts himself, Emmett understands the necessity of easy access to the sport and to its lifetime benefits. He continues to play and compete in his age group and is working toward obtaining an ITF ranking.
For more information about the foundation visit publicparkstennis.org.
