Former tennis pro compares local grass court to those at Wimbledon
Former professional tennis player Travis Parrott returns a forehand shot during a family doubles match at the All Iowa Lawn Tennis Club. The two-time NCAA champion who won four WTA titles during his career, said that the AILTC court —which was recently christened the “Alex J. Kuhn Court of Dreams” — is the best grass court in North America and is comparable to the grass courts at Wimbledon where he was a doubles competitor during The Championships.
By John Burbridge sports@charlescitypress.com
CHARLES CITY — Even as a spectator, making it to The Championships, Wimbledon only favors the persistent.
Travis Parrott took an even more difficult rout when he gained entrance to the oldest tennis tournament in the world as a player.
And he didn’t get bounced out — or at least not until he established some footing on the famous grass surface.
Two times as a doubles competitor, Parrott advanced to the third round — most recently (2008) with Slovakian partner Filip Polesek after notably knocking off the No. 6-seeded team of Pavel Vizner and Martin Damm in the first round.
Now married with four kids, Parrott — a U.S. Open mixed doubles champion with Carly Gullickson in 2009 — no longer plays professionally. But he’s always up for a court challenge, especially against siblings Jeremy — an NCAA golf champion at Georgia about the same time Travis helped the Bulldogs win two tennis titles — and artist Michael.
And when it’s on the same type of surface at Wimbledon, Parrott is even more game.
“This is the best grass court in North America,” Parrott said of the local All Iowa Lawn Tennis Club court now named the “Alex J. Kuhn Court of Dreams”.
“It’s as good as any of the Aorangi Park courts at Wimbledon,” Parrott said of the 22 practice courts. “There are still some dead spots, so it’s not quite like Center Court. But it usually takes time for a court like this to settle in.”
The Oregon resident and his family were in town over the Fouth of July holiday period to take part in the formal celebration of his father’s marraige.
The groom — Charles City tennis coach Brian Parrott — the weekend before helped organize the Alex J. Kuhn Memorial Invitational at the AILTC featuring top 12-and-under players from Iowa and Minnesota.
The event was covered by national media, and officially marked the reopening of the club since Kuhn’s death last summer.
“We just had a guy come in all the way from Columbia,” said Alex’s father, Mark Kuhn, who built the court on his family farm in 2003 and has since catered to grass-court enthusiasts who are willing to travel long miles to play on it.
For Travis, who teammed up with his father against his brothers, it was his first time at the AILTC.
“I’d like to come out here again,” he said.
Facebook
Social Share