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Advantage Youth: Introducing Inner-City Youth to Tennis since 1971

“I push them to keep going because I know what tennis can do. I’ve seen what it did for my sons and I know what it did for me.” – Richard Williams, 1994 LA Times Article

Tennis is more than a ball, a net and two players, it has the ability to be the spark, the commitment and the opportunity to change one person’s life trajectory.  When Richard Williams along with his brother Fred Williams founded the California Tennis Association for Underprivileged Youth (CTAUY) in 1971 he set out with a mission to not only introduce tennis to a group of children who would not have had the means to do so, but to impact their lives through introducing lifelong skills such as determination, appreciation for education and confidence.

Inspired by his older brother, Walter Williams, Richard took up tennis at Will Rogers Park in Watts, where he grew up. Walter belonged to the University Tennis Club in Los Angeles and sometimes brought Richard along to meet some of the more affluent members.

“I liked the tennis club meetings,” Richard said. “My brother and his friends were educated and had nice things. They were different than the people I was used to hanging around with. I equated tennis with success.”

After earning a tennis scholarship to Pepperdine and spending several years in the Army, Williams earned his degree from Cal State Los Angeles in 1968, then was a postal worker for 24 years, retiring in 1992. Since retirement, Richard and Fred have dedicated their time and lives to ensuring that the youth in Los Angeles not only have an opportunity to pick up a tennis racket, but play competitively in tournaments resulting in a sectional or national ranking.  Establishing a high work ethic on the court also translates into the classroom and beyond.  Students gain self-assurance and recognize that higher education goals and professional careers are attainable.

Richard and his brother, Fred Williams, operate the California Tennis Association for Underprivileged Youth. The program has gone beyond teaching youngsters the fundamentals of tennis. It has produced some of the city’s best players.

For the past 50 years the Williams’ brothers outreach programs have produced over 1,000 tennis players and 10 professional tennis coaches.  In the last 35 years the tennis program has operated at Rancho Cienega Park, adjacent to Dorsey High School in Los Angeles.  Students have been ranked in the junior division as high as #2 in Southern California, #80 nationally, and top 35 in NCAA Division II.  Eight students have reached the finals of the Los Angeles City Section individual tournament. Individual students have also won the Boys’ and Girls’ High School City Championship.  Levels of success have been achieved off the tennis courts with multiple players being their high school class salutatorians.

“Dorsey’s had some great players and Richard has trained them all,” said Dave Gordon, Dorsey’s tennis coach. “He’s meant everything to Dorsey and inner-city tennis.”

Coach Williams is known all over as the tennis coach who provided lessons to Richard Williams (Venus and Serena’s father).  In 1996 the Venus and Serena Williams Tennis Academy was formed as one of the operating programs of CTAUY to offer tennis instruction and tutoring to students after school and during the summer.  

Tennis players have received scholarships to universities throughout the United States – such as USC, Georgetown, Morehouse, SIU, Howard, Seton Hall, UNLV, UCLA, Dillard, Clark Atlanta, Tuskegee, Virginia State and UCI. In one family, six players received tennis scholarships.  Three of the six players recently graduated from USC Dental School.

Over the years CTAUY has been commended by the following people and organizations for their contributions to tennis: the late renowned player Arthur Ashe, the late renowned actor Charlton Heston, three different Mayors of Los Angeles, USC, USPTA, Miller Brewing Company, Southern California Tennis Association. News articles about CTAUY have appeared in the following publications: Los Angeles Times, New York Times, USA Today, and Sports Illustrated Magazine. 

The Williams brothers’ impact has helped students incorporate lessons learned on the court into professional careers as successful dentists, tennis coaches, doctors, lawyers, educators, and entrepreneurs. Along the way, students have earned scholarships and graduated from college with less debt or debt free.  Students’ “love of the game” has been passed among three generations and will surely extend to future generations.