Remembering tennis legend Bob Davis

With heavy hearts, we remember Robert "Bob" Davis who recently passed away on January 15, 2025.

Born in New York City in 1944, "Bobby D." was introduced to tennis at the age of 8. During the 1950 and early 60's, Bob became a 2-time American Tennis Association (ATA) National Champion; winning the ATA Junior National title and the Men's Doubles title with his brother, Hall-of-Famer Bill Davis. A hitting partner for Hall of Famer Althea Gibson and a Life member of the ATA, he competed in the U.S. National Championships (U.S. Open) at Forest Hills and was a USTA Mixed Doubles National Champion in 2006.

Off the court, Bob leased the largest private tennis club in New York State in the '70s and managed his family-owned sleep-over tennis Academy in the 1980's.

Bob then helped to create, and was the National Program Director for, the Ashe/Bollettieri "Cities" Tennis Program (ABC) which later became the Arthur Ashe Safe Passage Foundation. As CEO, this program introduced tennis to more than 20,000 inner-city children and provided health screenings, tutoring and academic support to these children in 10 U.S. cities across America. To date, these services have been provided to more than 85,000 children across America.

Once the Arthur Ashe Safe Passage Foundation closed its doors, Bob created Black Dynamics, Inc., which offered scholarships to the most talented minority youth to the IMG Bollettieri Tennis Academy. The founding belief of Black Dynamics was that youngsters needed world-class competition in order to reach world-class performance. Two alumni of Black Dynamics represented the United States on the Federation Cup Team.

Bob then created the Panda Foundation, Inc. (www.thepandafoundation.com), modeled after the wildly successful Safe Passage Foundation. Panda has provided no-cost introductory tennis, along with healthy-living and life skills instruction and mentoring to more than 500 youth each year.

Bob co-wrote Nick Bollettieri's autobiography, "Bollettieri – Changing the Game". He also coached professional players and, in 2014, was added to the coaching delegation of the Jamaican Davis Cup Team. He was inducted into the ATA's New England Tennis Association Hall of Fame in 2006, the Black Tennis Hall of Fame in 2014, the Tampa Bay Tennis Hall of Fame in 2014 and the USTA Eastern Tennis Association Hall of Fame in 2022.

Bob is survived by his two daughters, Tanya and Robyn, who embody his deep passion for hard work and education. A memorial service will be held this Friday, January 24th, at GT Bray Park in Bradenton, Florida. 

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Photos: HJTEP