Tennis Channel will air a one-hour special on Saturday, July 18 at 8pm EST highlighting the campaign and the International Tennis Hall of Fame’s mission to preserve tennis history, celebrate its champions, and inspire the next generation of tennis fans.
The International Tennis Hall of Fame is inviting tennis fans around the globe to come together in support of the sport even while staying socially distant through a new fundraising campaign designed to commemorate this momentous pause in tennis history and support the non-profit organization’s programs to preserve, celebrate, and inspire.
Through “Your Name in the Hall of Fame” fans around the world who make a donation to the organization during this time will have their name and photo incorporated into an interactive exhibit that will be shown in the Museum at the International Tennis Hall of Fame and showcased online. The exhibit will chronicle 2020’s historic pause in tennis and feature the names of the many dedicated tennis fans around the globe who opt in to display their love for the sport and support the Hall of Fame.
Donations to put “Your Name in the Hall of Fame” start at just $25 and can be made on the Hall of Fame’s website at www.tennisfame.com/yourname. Donors can opt to put their own name and photo in the exhibit, and can also utilize the program to honor someone special in their life or perhaps pay tribute to a coach, teammate, or tennis friend.
“While the pandemic has taken a major toll on our sport and society at large, through this program the International Tennis Hall of Fame is taking a moment to reflect on our sport’s history, celebrate its resilience, and provide fans everywhere a unique opportunity to be amongst the legends of the game in the Hall of Fame,” stated Todd Martin, CEO of the International Tennis Hall of Fame. “Now more than ever, support from the community is vital for the Hall of Fame to continue to fulfill its mission to preserve, celebrate, and inspire.”
Like many organizations around the world, the International Tennis Hall of Fame is being significantly financially impacted by COVID-19, which caused the non-profit organization to cancel major events and fundraisers, and temporarily close day-to-day operations.
Funds raised through the “Your Name in the Hall of Fame” campaign will directly impact the Hall of Fame’s ability to continue to serve its mission to preserve and promote tennis history, celebrate its champions, and inspire the next generation.
Among these programs are:
- Careful preservation of the vast museum collection of 25,000 + historic objects and hundreds of thousands of photos and videos;
- Development of digital museum exhibits to bring the story of tennis history to the world;
- Preserving the stories of those who made world and tennis history through personal oral history recordings with the Hall of Famers;
- Caretaking of the National Historic Landmark property that was the site of the first US Nationals (today’s US Open) in 1881; and,
- Operation of youth development and outreach programs, including TeamFAME, a National Junior Tennis & Learning chapter based at the Hall of Fame.
“Your Name in the Hall of Fame” kicks off this week, during which the annual International Tennis Hall of Fame Enshrinement Weekend and the Hall of Fame Open would have been hosted, but were cancelled due to COVID-19.
Class of 2020 inductees Conchita Martínez and Goran Ivanišević, who were to be honored this year, will instead be inducted next July alongside the Class of 2021 inductees.
TC Live: Hall of Fame Edition
On Saturday, July 18, which would have been the Class of 2020 induction ceremony, Tennis Channel will air a special one-hour TC Live program that will showcase the power and prestige of the honor of Hall of Fame induction, highlight the museum’s efforts to preserve tennis history, and shine a light on how fans can support the organization’s efforts through the “Your Name in the Hall of Fame” campaign. TC Live: Hall of Fame Edition will air Saturday, July 18 at 8 pm EST with an encore presentation at 11 pm EST.
To participate in the “Your Name in the Hall of Fame” campaign or learn more, please visit tennisfame.com/yourname
About the International Tennis Hall of Fame
The International Tennis Hall of Fame is a non-profit organization with a mission to preserve and promote the history of tennis and celebrate its champions, thereby serving as a vital partner in the growth of tennis globally. The Hall of Fame is located in Newport, Rhode Island in the United States, and Hall of Famers hail from 26 nations around the world. The Hall of Fame honors these legends and chronicles the sport’s history in a comprehensive interactive museum in Newport and programming to celebrate the sport around the world.
