Named 2021 Featured Facility Of The Year

The USTA announced on December 10, 2021 that the Barnes Tennis Center in San Diego has been awarded the USTA’s highest facility honor as it has been named the 2021 Featured Facility. The Barnes Tennis Center is one of 25 winners in the annual USTA Outstanding Facility Awards program, which recognizes excellence in the construction and/or renovation of tennis facilities throughout the country. The Barnes Tennis Center was honored at the 2021 USTA Celebrating Community Champions virtual ceremony on Dec. 8.

The awardees also received a surprise virtual call from tennis legends to honor the community champions for their contributions to growing the game of tennis. To view the video of #TeamSoCal Paralympians Dana Mathewson of Rancho Mirage and David Wagner of Fullerton honoring the Barnes Tennis Center, please click here. 

The Barnes Tennis Center is owned and operated by Youth Tennis San Diego, a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization. Barnes Tennis Center annually hosts the USTA Girls’ 16s & 18s National Championships. Additionally, in 2021 Barnes hosted the Easter Bowl, the International Open of Southern California (ITF G1), the Youth Tennis San Diego ITF (G4), the Pac-12 Conference Men’s and Women’s Championships, the Golden State NAIA Championships, ITA Southwest Regionals, multiple Level 1-7 USTA junior championships, ROG tournaments, and multiple wheelchair programs, as well as Aceing Autism. Barnes provides a full junior pathway from three-year-old programming to ROG to our competitive middle school and high school programs as well as our academy programs with elite blue chip recruits. Barnes is a Chapter 4 USTA Foundation Excellence Development Team member as well as host to the San Diego competitive Training Center programs (SCTA). Barnes has most recently partnered and opened up a Performance Center that has Physical Therapy and training sessions.

Youth Tennis San Diego’s signature outreach program, the Kathy Chabot Willette After School Tennis Program, serves children of all backgrounds throughout the city of San Diego on the blacktops of schools, parks, and recreation centers. The program offers scholarships and financial assistance to children to then train at the Barnes Tennis Center in a more formalized training. Created in 1953, YTSD has been a beacon of tennis and educational development for kids from the most underserved areas of San Diego. Further, in 1995 a dedicated Youth Training Center was built – the Barnes Tennis Center, which now serves thousands of kids annually through programs and tournaments.

The Barnes Tennis Center recently installed LED lighting on all 25 tennis courts, while also adding two red clay courts as well as Pickleball and Padel courts. In addition, updates were made to the Gym/Performance Center and landscaping. Total, more than $600,000 has been spent recently on improvements and additions to the facility. 

“Great tennis facilities like the Barnes Tennis Center help us to grow the game at the grass-roots level, and we are proud to recognize them for their ongoing impact on the sport of tennis,” said Craig Morris, Chief Executive, Community Tennis, USTA.. “Barnes Tennis Center has embraced many of our tennis initiatives and kept the sport at the forefront of its community each year.”

To be considered for an award, facilities must be under the jurisdiction of a park and recreation department, an educational institution, a nonprofit corporation or be a private or commercially-owned-and-operated facility that offers both USTA and public programming designed to help grow tennis. 

Facilities were judged on the following criteria: overall layout and adaptation to site; excellence of court surface and lights; ease of maintenance; accommodations for players, spectators and press/officials; aesthetics; graphics (including the use of signs and landscaping); amenities such as casual seating for spectators, food services and social areas; and the facilities’ participation in USTA programs.

Nominated facilities were voted on in the following categories: Public Courts that are either small tennis centers with 2-10 courts or large tennis centers with 11 or more courts; Private Facilities that support the USTA and other “growth of the game” programs open to the public; and Educational Institutions such as colleges, universities, public and private grade schools, middle schools, or high schools.

All 2021 award winners will receive a wall plaque and an all-weather sign, which can be mounted at the facility. 

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