International Tennis Hall of Fame launches fundraising campaign

The International Tennis Hall of Fame has launched a campaign called "Your Name in the Hall of Fame" to raise money to support the non-profit organisation.

Tennis fans around the globe are being asked to come together in what would have been the 2020 International Tennis Hall of Fame Enshrinement Weekend and Hall of Fame Open.

Through “Your Name in the Hall of Fame” fans around the world who make a donation 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 $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 honour 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,” said 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 organisations around the world, the International Tennis Hall of Fame is being financially impacted by COVID-19, which caused the non-profit organisation 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 honoured this year, will instead be inducted next July alongside the Class of 2021 inductees.