When I first moved to San Francisco, the Golden Gate Park Tennis Center was one of the first places I went to find friends and a community. Now it is my turn to give back to the tennis community and my city.
I have served on the board of the Golden Gate Tennis Club, the Gay and Lesbian Tennis Federation and the SF Recreation and Park Department’s Tennis Advisory Committee. I am currently a member of the USTA Northern California Diversity Committee as well as board member of the San Francisco Parks Alliance. I follow the work of many community tennis leaders who formed the Tennis Coalition; they spoke up and worked hard to be an advocate for public tennis in San Francisco. It is an honor to continue their work.
Tennis has always been a part of my life starting at 2 years old with the help of a racquetball racket and very passionate parents who are avid players. I played throughout my childhood, including fours of high school varsity, and then quit as an act of teenage defiance. Like many people, I picked tennis back up during the pandemic and have been playing on USTA teams ever since. In between leagues, I am teaching my husband how to play tennis to continue the family tradition.
I am thrilled to be part of the Tennis Coalition of San Francisco to help promote access to tennis throughout the City. It is a wonderful way to stay active, make friends, and explore different areas of San Francisco by virtue of the many public courts around town.
My mom played tennis regularly with friends when I was a child and enrolled me in a clinic at age 9 in suburban Cincinnati. I was immediately hooked and promptly subscribed to Tennis Magazine. I played throughout high school and taught tennis at a day camp as a summer job. I competed in occasional local tournaments on both clay and hard courts, which made the game even more enjoyable. An annual highlight every August was attending the ATP tennis tournament (now the Western and Southern Open) with my dad where we watched the top men’s players compete at the warm up tournament for the US Open. My love for the game extended to the workplace during college. I worked in marketing at the ATP tournament corporate office, then after a study abroad semester in Luxembourg I interned in the press department at the ATP European office in Monaco.
I got back into tennis during the pandemic and joined the USTA in 2022. It has been wonderful to meet and befriend tennis obsessed people, compete again, and try to improve my game. You can find me frequently on the couch watching the Grand Slams on TV or playing on a dozen various public courts around San Francisco.
I feel fortunate to channel my passion for the game into community building and access to tennis for every San Franciscan.
Lois Anne Indorf, Secretary
I joined the Tennis Coalition to give back to the tennis community and especially my favorite place in the world, Golden Gate Park!
I started playing at public courts in SF in the early 80s, first at JP Murphy, but as league tennis grew I joined teams out of Golden Gate Park. I made wonderful friends, took/take lessons through SF Recreation and Parks, enjoy team competition and play with the youth tennis players at Golden Gate Park!
Through my professional experience as a Nurse Practitioner, I know that our bodies are made for movement, and it is important to have fun moving. Tennis can fulfill the need for lifelong movement and fun!
Through the Tennis Coalition I help support the improvement and revitalization of our tennis resources, and through these resources support our tennis playing youth, adults and seniors!
I started playing tennis in the 1980s (with a wooden racquet), inspired by a 17-year-old Boris Becker winning Wimbledon. I benefited from after-school programs in Palo Alto when I was growing up and at 13 decided to commit to tennis as my main sport. I played junior tennis in the USTA NorCal district, winning the 16 & Under and 18 & Under singles tournament at Golden Gate Park.
These days I play at the Cal Club, the Hamilton courts and Grattan Playground. I am excited about the improvements being made at GGPTC, especially the lights for nighttime play and the greater spacing between courts. What excites me the most is the skills that young people will learn and the communities that will form at the renovated facility. I hope that future generations will create amazing memories at the new GGPTC playing and competing there. I'm excited to contribute to the Tennis Coalition of SF and help improve tennis in San Francisco for everyone!
Nina Kim Schultz, Co-Chair
I was inspired by my children to pick up a racket (borrowed from my brother...not yet returned) when the beautiful Goldman Tennis Center opened. I instantly fell in love with the game and feel so grateful to be able to walk and bike to the courts at GTC, Mountain Lake Park, and Dupont, as well as access courts in the Presidio, Marin and Truckee. The friendships and bonds created from clinics, teams, coaches and helping out with juniors has brought me so much unexpected joy. I am excited to help pass on the joy to others in San Francisco by making tennis as accessible as possible. I am grateful for all that the Tennis Coalition SF has done to promote public tennis throughout the city and am thrilled to be a part of this work.
Lilian Kim Lynch
I took up tennis soon after I moved to San Francisco and everything I learned about playing the game was through the classes I signed up for with Rec and Parks. The experience was life changing. I learned new skills, met new friends, and developed a passion for the sport. Along the way, the tennis courts at Golden Gate Park became my happy place. I cherish the relationships I've made over the years; there is a sense of community that I have yet to find anywhere else. I'm excited to be part of the Tennis Coalition and to give back to the community that has given me so much.
Tennis started as an "anything my brother can do, I can do better" activity when I was growing up. I started to get decent before high school (GO GALILEO!) and decided to join the team, playing varsity all four years. During that time, I was lucky enough to have a lot of free help from San Francisco legends Carl Mendoza (NJTL/YTA) and Lou Maunupau (SF Rec & Park) as well as coach David Longacre. My playing didn't continue into college but I kept a part time and summer job at Lombardi Sports' tennis department, allowing me to stay connected with my favorite sport.
After some years away from tennis, it recently drew me back and now I run a tennis shop in the city, Golden State Tennis. I play recreationally with friends I've met through the shop at the beautiful Goldman Tennis Center. I am so glad that tennis has stuck with me and has taught me so much in life. As a thank you, hopefully I can help grow and encourage more tennis playing, especially through the public school system.
Brett Meyer, Treasurer
Tennis was a major part of my life during my childhood all the way through early 20's including a successful college tennis career at a Division III college program, ranking in the top 50 in the country my senior year. After a long hiatus of not playing much tennis for two decades, it was my family who helped me rediscover the passion for playing the game, not just appreciating it from a distance. Inspired by my two sons and wife who are now avid tennis players in Marin County and San Francisco at the Goldman Center and the Mountain Lake Park courts, I have started competing again on a regular basis. What I love again so much about tennis is how much of a social sport it is, having made a number of wonderful friends in the process of coming back to the sport. The community building that the sport naturally creates is a treasure for all those who play the sport.
I have particular passion for junior related programs given my two sons who have learned life-long skills of competition, focus, and resilience through their experience with tennis so far. I look forward to contributing to the cultivation and expansion of public tennis in San Francisco for all of the tennis players who appreciate the wonders of excellent public court facilities!
Lois Salisbury
My love affair with Golden Gate Park began with a love affair. Literally. My first date with my husband was a walk in the Children’s Playground. Now, decades later, the Park continues to mean so much to me: a perfect Sunday starts with tennis, capped off by swing dancing at Lindy in the Park with my husband.
My career as a civil rights lawyer, children’s policy advocate and non-profit manager was full of big challenges. Working to restore the tennis center in Golden Gate Park is big, too, but also very tangible. Once complete, these world-class public courts will bring sport and joy to new generations of San Franciscans from all backgrounds, united by their love of tennis. What an honor to be part of The Tennis Coalition.
Peg Stevenson, Co-Chair
The places where I grew in Massachusetts and Maine each had community tennis courts where my parents played and the kids hit against a wall and until it was our turn. Mixed doubles was my father and me against my brother and my mother. How did I forget for years how much fun it was? As an adult I picked up a racquet again looking to get some more exercise. I joined the Gay Lesbian Tennis Federation (GLTF) and met great friends and teammates and served on the Board. Through friends I got involved with the campaign to build the new Golden Gate Park Tennis Center, served on the Tennis Coalition Board and helped the GLTF become a contributor to the effort. Now, every time I play at GGP I look around me and cannot believe it - the results are even better than imagined - it is beautiful, it is functional and the feeling of community is strong. Running around, hitting balls, green and trees around, hawks overhead - it doesn't get better!
I am pleased to be rejoining the Board in 2022 and looking forward to growing with the Tennis Coalition into the next chapter. We have many new players and a world class public tennis center to bring the benefits and fun of tennis to the broader community. It is exciting to be part of it.
