Southern Tennis Patrons Foundation

Southern Tennis Patrons Foundation

Wilton McKinney, South Carolina, 1997

Wilton McKinney, South Carolina, inducted in 1997Wilton McKinney

  • An active junior player and captain of both the Greenville High School and University of South Carolina tennis teams
  • Considered the patriarch of South Carolina tennis as the first volunteer to become involved in the sport at the local, state, sectional and national levels
  • Served as Director of Tennis at Greenville Country Club where the center court is named in his honor
  • Volunteer tennis coach at Greenville High School for 25 years, winning 16 state championships, 3 Southern championships and finishing third in the nation twice.
  • Served as President of the South Carolina Tennis Association, on the Southern Tennis Association Executive Committee, chaired the STA Umpire’s Committee, served on numerous other state, section and national committees, coached the Junior Davis Cup team and refereed the South Boys Open
  • Became the first person inducted into the South Carolina Tennis Hall of Fame in 1982 and in 1986 the state established the Wilton McKinney Award in his honor, the state’s highest junior award
  • Attended every Southern Tennis Association Annual Meeting for over 50 consecutive years, did extensive work to document the history of Southern tennis and was awarded the USTA Southern Jacobs Bowl

Nehemiah Atkinson, Louisiana, 1997

Nehemiah Atkinson, Louisiana, inducted in 1997Nehemiah Atkinson

  • Avid tennis player since the 1940’s who specialized in singles competition
  • Director of Tennis for the City of New Orleans for 22 years
  • Won over 15 Southern Singles Championships and several Silver Balls as a finalist at USTA National Championships
  • Represented Louisiana at Senior Cup competition, captain of the Southern 75’s team at the USTA Intersectional Team competition, 1993 USPTR Player of the Year and winner of the 1996 USPTR Men’s 70 singles title
  • Recipient of the inaugural Kennedy Ripple of Hope Award and the T. N. Touchstone Memorial Trophy presented annually to a Southern senior player who displays outstanding sportsmanship and support of tennis in the South
  • Played on the 1999, 2000 and 2001 United States Gardner Mulloy Cup Team which won the competition in 2001 to become world champions in the Men’s 80’s
  • Inducted into the Louisiana Tennis Hall of Fame in 1986