Tennis isn’t just a sport — it can also be a vehicle to change lives and leave a lasting impact. Just ask Stacey Allaster.
The chief executive of professional tennis at the United States Tennis Association (USTA) and U.S. Open tournament director — the first woman to hold that role in the nearly 150-year history of the event — is a lifer in the sport. Even though she didn’t play it at the highest level, she’s led it from those same heights.
“I’ve been very, very fortunate to have taken a passion with very little tennis talent on the court and translated it into a successful career,” Allaster told The Washington Times.
Her numerous accolades across a 38-year career include, as the former chairman and CEO of the Women’s Tennis Association (WTA), leading the push for equal prize money at Wimbledon, Roland Garros, and across the sport — something that will also happen at the D.C. Open by 2027.
“Hopefully the U.S. Open and tennis continues to be that lighthouse [for] the business of women’s sport and the women [that] deserve more compensation,” Allaster said. “For the sport that I love — for tennis to be that leader — I feel very lucky that it’s our sport.”
As she concludes her tenure at Flushing Meadows, Allaster is this year’s recipient of the USTA Mid-Atlantic Foundation’s Tennis Creates Impact Award. She’ll receive the honor from the foundation at its annual Tennis Creates Gala on Dec. 6 at the Salamander Hotel in Southwest D.C.
“I’m not retiring, but I’m really just pivoting to a life centered around fun, freedom, and impact,” Allaster said, “and I intend to build a different legacy, but it’ll still be focused on loving tennis.”
Allaster joined the latest District of Sports podcast to discuss the honor, her lifetime experiences in tennis, including leading America’s Grand Slam through a global pandemic and elevating it to new revenue and attendance heights, and the surging state of the sport after the emergences of stars such as Jannik Sinner, Carlos Alcaraz and Aryna Sabalenka.
“Tennis changes peoples lives — I say that all the time … If you have a little boy or a little girl, it definitely provides the lessons in life that don’t come in the traditional academic setting,” Allaster said.
The foundation, based locally in Arlington, Virginia, will also bestow its Visionary Award to Ray Benton, the CEO of the Junior Tennis Champions Center in College Park, Maryland, which helped elevate local native Frances Tiafoe to tennis stardom.
The Tennis Creates Gala is the USTA Mid-Atlantic Foundation’s signature fundraising event, with all proceeds from benefiting the its mission to make tennis accessible to everyone in the region, regardless of background or location. The evening, hosted by former American tennis standouts Sam Querry and John Isner, will feature live and silent auctions, food and drink, entertainment, and more.
Tickets and more information are available at TennisCreatesGala.com, and you can find District of Sports wherever you get your podcasts, just search District of Sports in your favorite podcast app.
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