Pierce Kelley and YTF are changing the game for Florida's young tennis players

Florida Tennis got a chance to sit down with Youth Tennis Foundation (YTF) Past President Pierce Kelley at this year's Delray Beach Open. We discussed his background in professional tennis, college tennis, junior tennis and much, much more. Kelley's a shining example for younger tennis players looking to achieve a higher level in such a competitive sport.

Kelley’s passion for tennis extends far beyond his pro career —he's all about giving back. “The Youth Tennis Foundation has been in existence since 1962, and I’ve been involved with it since just about that time,” Kelley says with a chuckle. “That’s when I entered my sophomore year in high school and Jack Blair was the president, the president of the Florida Tennis Association and he’s a Hall of Fame member. He got me involved, and I’ve been involved ever since.”

Above: Kelley winning the Pacific Northwest Grass Championships in 1969. Photo courtesy of Pierce Kelley.

That’s the thing about tennis—it has a way of keeping people hooked for life. Kelley was a top-ranked junior player who went on to play for Tulane University on a full scholarship. Later, he attended Law School and became a successful tennis coach at George Washington University. 

Kelley never strayed far from the game. “I was lucky enough to play at a high level,” he says having achieved a national men's ranking of No. 46 in 1971. “But the truth is, not every talented kid gets the opportunity. That’s where YTF comes in.”

Above: Annaleigh Collings wins 2018 Youth Tennis Foundation of Florida's annual tournament back draw. Source: Warner University Royals.

YTF is all about opening doors. “We have a board that is across the entire state and we’re doing a lot of things now, but we did an awful lot of things back in the mid-70s to the mid-80s. That was our most productive period of [growth] as far as our organization is concerned,” Kelley explains.

It’s a mission that’s deeply personal for Kelley, who has spent decades working to develop youth tennis in Florida. “Because of my involvement with the Youth Tennis Foundation, I was inducted into the Florida Tennis Hall of Fame two years ago,” he says. “I was a player, but I didn’t get in as a player, I got in because of my volunteerism [and giving back to] the game.”

Above: Pierce Kelley was inducted into the USTA Florida Hall of Fame back in 2022. Photo: LCCCTA.

As a junior, Kelley was part of a golden era of Florida tennis. “We had a great group of juniors back then, beginning with Billy Harris... then there was Armistead Neely, Jamie Pressly, and just a whole bunch of really great players who have been my best friends over the years.”

After college, Kelley played professionally for a few years, though he admits it was a different world back then. “When I came out of Tulane, that’s when I did play professional tennis, but the money didn’t really get down to guys like me,” he says. “I even had a big win over Eddie Dibbs in the finals of the Florida State Clay Courts. He wasn’t number five in the world yet, but he was already a great player.”

However, for Kelley, real satisfaction goes beyond reminiscing about prior matches he played at such a special time. Instead, he's focused on making a significant impact on the next generation of tennis players. And that ranges from youngsters all the way up to college players.

Above: 2023 Bedford Cup Finalist Jan Magnus Johnson and winner Alexander Orikoowski. Source: YTF.

“We do a lot to support college tennis,” he says. One of YTF’s biggest initiatives is the Bedford Cup, which brings together Florida’s Division I college teams. “We have all the college teams come, we pay for almost everything, and they play each other. It’s our way of supporting the game,” Kelley explains. 

Beyond that, YTF also supports Division II, NAIA, and JUCOs in the state, helping to ensure that college tennis remains a viable path for young athletes. “Teams that had excellent athletic programs were dropping their tennis programs, and it was filtering down to the lower levels too,” Kelley says in order to emphasize the importance of YTF's efforts at the college level. There's even scholarships for high school players to attend Ed Krass' College Tennis Exposure Camp too.

For juniors, YTF offers even more opportunities. “We sponsor two kids to go to the Evert Academy for a week-long seminar. We want them to be talented—kids who can really benefit from it. We also look for them to be motivated and have some financial need. We’ve been doing that for a lot of years,” Kelley says.

In addition, there's support for the youngest players — just getting their start in the sport. “We started the Youth Team Tennis program, which became Junior Team Tennis, and that became the program for the entire country,” Kelley says. “USTA took it over in ’87, and that’s when Junior Team Tennis took off. Bobby Curtis said they just patterned it after our program.”

For those who want to support YTF, Kelley has a simple message: “If you’ve got an idea for a program or a way we can help, reach out. We’re a small organization, not a bureaucratic machine. We can move quickly, and we want to make a difference.”

To learn more about YTF and Pierce Kelley, check out the full interview with Florida Tennis below. And for more information on YTF, visit ytf-fl.org.

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Written by Florida Tennis Editor Matt Pressman. Video: Florida Tennis.