Tennis Month: Zina Garrison Interview Part One

by Zina Garrison & Jason Brown

The first African-American captain in United States Fed Cup history, Zina Garrison recently guided Team USA to a quarterfinal sweep of Belgium. A native of Houston, Texas, Garrison was a member of three U.S. championship-winning teams, captured 37 career titles and reached the 1990 Wimbledon final.

During the month of May, Garrison is participating in several Tennis Month events, including a NJTL kids’ clinic in Oakland, California and another in her hometown of Houston on May 16.

Catching up with USTA.com, Garrison explains why she feels tennis is so different from other sports, how her love for the game began, and the experience captaining the Fed Cup team.

USTA.com: You have been active in Tennis Month initiatives. What are some of the events that you’ve participated in and where?

Zina Garrison: I’ve done several – New York, Oakland, and I’m getting ready to do another one in Houston on May 16th. It’s always a great opportunity when you get to go into a community and let people know that tennis is still out there, that it’s a great sport to get involved in. It feels great to lend your support to something like that.

USTA.com: What does tennis mean to you?

Zina Garrison: Tennis means a lot to me because I was one of those kids that had the opportunity to play free in a public park. It basically helped me get off the streets and because of that, I had the opportunity to see the world and meet a lot of people. It’s a great social sport and it can build character as well.

USTA.com: Speaking of your childhood growing up in Houston, where exactly did you play, who did you play with, and how did you get your introduction to the sport?

Zina Garrison: I grew up in Houston, Texas and I grew up playing in a park called MacGregor Park. (The park is now home to the Zina Garrison All Court Tennis Academy http://zinagarrison.org/default.asp?Mode=DirectoryDisplay&id=1&DirectoryUseAbsoluteOnSearch=True which was founded by Garrison in 1993 as a way to give back to her community. Over 1100 Houston youth participate in the program annually). I was taught by a guy named John Wilkerson who at the time had about 30 kids to teach every day. I started to play when I was almost 11 years old. I grew up with another person, Lori McNeil (http://www.playerdevelopment.usta.com/content/fullstory.sps?iNewsid=123002&itype=7420), who eventually became one of the USTA Player Development coaches and at one point, was one of the Top 10 players in the world.

USTA.com: What part did your family play with your involvement in tennis?

Zina Garrison: I was the youngest of seven kids. My Dad died when I was one. My oldest brother died when I was six months old. I had another brother that was fourteen years older than me, and he had a good friend that played tennis in high school. He was the one that took me up to MacGregor Park and that’s where I met my coach John Wilkerson. That’s when I started to play.

USTA.com: Everyone talks about the importance of confidence on the tennis court. Did you take the confidence that tennis builds within you on and off the court?

Zina Garrison: No, I was already this cocky little young girl (laughs), so I had a lot of confidence to begin with. So it was kind of the opposite for me; tennis humbled me a little bit. I liked the fact that tennis was an individual sport, but that you could also team up and play doubles and be on a team. But for me I think the thing that hooked me was that there were 30-something kids there every day, and we were playing a sport that everybody else in the neighborhood was not playing. I’ve always liked to be different. I never did what everyone else was doing.

USTA.com: Over the years, you have stuck with the sport. Obviously, you had a lot of talent on the tennis court, but was there something more than that which hooked you for your entire life?

Zina Garrison: I liked the fact that every day you go out on the court there’s something different. There’s never totally going to be the same element. It’s always a sport that you’re challenging yourself one day to the next. Whether you’re playing indoors or outdoors, there’s a great atmosphere to the sport which I love. It’s never boring. Every day there’s the opportunity to learn something and do something new. Every day it’s a different match with different partners.

USTA.com: One of the greatest challenges that we have as the governing body of tennis is that kids, especially in the United States, have so many options when it comes to sports and extra-circular activities to choose from. What would you tell a kid who is very active about tennis that makes it so unique from the rest?

Zina Garrison: First of all, I always tell kids to at least try tennis. I think the hardest part that we have with tennis in keeping kids interested is that they don’t have a lot of kids to play with; to have a group that they can go out and become a part of tennis and get hooked on it. You also don’t always have that instant gratification in tennis – sometimes you’ll need to take a few lessons before you’re into it. I always tell kids to stick with it for awhile, stick with it over a summer, bring out your best friend, and hang in there with the sport until you get that feeling – hitting the ball over and getting to the challenging part of it.

USTA.com: For all of your success in singles, you’re also a very accomplished doubles player. What is it about the doubles format that makes it so unique and fun and interesting?

Zina Garrison: For me, singles was great because you had the opportunity to be by yourself, but doubles is a totally different game. I like the fact that also you had to, at least for me, curb your attitude and pretty much combine it with someone else in order to come out on top. I liked the different angles you use in doubles and I was a volleyer so I really liked that part of it.