JIMMY GOLEN AP Sports Writer, Jake Holter and Jake Holter
10 minutes ago
NEWPORT, R.I. (AP) — The International Tennis Hall of Fame is dressing up for some very special visitors.
The Newport sanctuary unveiled plans Tuesday for a $3 million renovation that will double the museum’s exhibition space and redesign the plaque gallery in time for the burials of all-time greats such as Roger Federer and Serena Williams.
“When you think about this golden era and think about who will be inducted in the next five to 10 years, the timing is perfect,” Hall CEO Dan Faber said at a press conference announcing the plans.
Most noticeable among the improvements will be a new display for inductees. The plaques on the wall will be replaced by a series of markers, each containing a gold tennis racket reflecting the Hall’s logo. A replica of the racket will be presented to the inductee during the induction ceremony.
“It really shows how much prestige this honor brings to the inductees, both players and contributors,” said Reese Stevens, who helped design the new displays. “The gold bats will be the new manifestation of what it means to be a Hall of Famer.”
The Initiates’ Gallery moves from the beginning of the exhibitions to the end of the tour through the 19th-century building that surrounds the only grass courts in the United States regularly open to the public. A new retail store is added at the end of the exhibitions.
Due to the layout of the building, visitors previously had to start in the plaque gallery and walk through the exhibitions before returning to the exit.
“We want to be very respectful of the fact that this is a historic building, and we know that,” said Mindy Ward, who also worked on the plans for Nashville, Tennessee-based design firm Advent. “Part of our challenge – and one we embraced with enthusiasm – was to make sure that what we were developing was fresh, new and modern, but also blended seamlessly with some of the historic exhibits of historic art and architecture that we didn’t want to just get rid of.”
This is the first major renovation of the hall since 2015; the plaque gallery had not been updated since 2008. About 30,000 visitors tour the hall in person each year—a number expected to double—and there are plans to make the exhibits more accessible online for those unable to visit this affluent town of mansions and marinas on Narragansett Bay.
The hall will be closed during the renovation. The renovation is scheduled to begin in November and be completed next May.
Players can be inducted into the Hall of Fame five years after they were last a “significant factor” on the ATP or WTA Tour. Federer retired in 2021 and Williams a year later, meaning they will be eligible for induction in 2026 and 2027.
“The golden era of tennis may be coming to an end, but it is just around the corner,” said Hall Vice President Julianna Barbieri. “Roger Federer, Serena Williams, Rafael Nadal, Andy Murray and Venus Williams will be inducted into the Hall of Fame, and it was time for us to take what was in the current gallery and modernize it, modernize it for today, modernize it for the evolution of the sport and make it more in line with who he is and the way the game has evolved since 2008.”
President Patrick McEnroe also said the organization is planning new events after the Hall of Fame Open lost its place on the ATP calendar after this season. The tournament has been played in July in conjunction with the induction ceremonies for nearly 50 years, but its date the week after Wimbledon prompted many top players to skip the tournament and rest.
Details will be announced next month.
“You know the phrase, ‘Today is the first day of the rest of your life?'” McEnroe said. “Next year is the first year of the rest of our lives. And it’s going to be great.”
