USTA Honors Dick Walther with Annual Seniors' Service Award

The United States Tennis Association (USTA) today announced that Dick Walther of Summit, N.J., was presented with its annual Seniors’ Service Award. Walther was recognized for his outstanding dedication and contribution in helping to grow the sport of tennis at the local level during an awards banquet at the USTA Annual Meeting and Conference March 15-17 at the Omni La Costa Resort in Carlsbad, Calif.

The Seniors’ Service Award was established in 1958 to recognize and honor a person for service to senior tennis. It is awarded annually on the basis of the recipient’s willingness, cooperation and participation—either in play or organizational work—to work for the betterment of senior tennis competition.

Although the town of Summit holds the historical distinction as the hometown of Bill Larned, a seven-time US Nationals champion at the turn of the last century, “Coach Dick,” as Walther is called by those who know him best, has made a name for himself in his hometown, and his efforts have made him a real Pied Piper for the sport in New Jersey. 

After serving in World War II, Walther was introduced to tennis by a friend while in his early 30’s. He has been spreading the word about the game ever since.  Now at 91, he has used his experience to make tennis an enduring and lifelong pastime, not only for himself but for others.

Just over a decade ago, tennis activity in Summit, N.J., a suburban community of 20,000, was virtually non-existent.  Six of the city’s 16 public courts had been allowed to deteriorate to the point that they were deemed dangerous and unplayable. The gates to those courts were padlocked shut.

When the town’s Board of Recreation announced plans to demolish the tennis courts, a group of concerned citizens including Dick, formed a grass roots organization, the Summit Tennis Association, to re-establish tennis in the community.

Since then, tennis has continued to grow in the community, with more than 9,000 people playing on the Summit courts last year.  Programs for all ages and abilities are now being run year- round with programming for elementary school students, middle school students, adults, special needs), families, high performance players and seniors.

"Seniors generally feel they are too old and too slow to play the game," Walther said. "But we've found that the lower bouncing, slower bouncing low compression balls used for [the USTA’s 10 and Under Tennis] players also provide the needed skills bridge for the slower reaction speed typical among the seniors."

“Dick truly embodies what it means to be an advocate for our sport. Thanks to his efforts on and off the court, thousands of players of all ages and abilities have been able to enjoy the sport of a lifetime,” said Kurt Kamperman, Chief Executive, Community Tennis, USTA. “We are proud to recognize him for all that he has given to Tennis and especially his efforts in is getting seniors to pick up the sport for the first time or come back to the game.”