It was hard to wipe the smile off Jeff Zinn’s face Monday at the press conference announcing that the ATP is bringing a pro tennis tournament to Winston-Salem.
Zinn, the men’s tennis coach at Wake Forest the past 15 years, said that having a new $3-million dollar outdoor facility with 10 to 12 courts can only help the Deacons’ programs.
“The two most excited individuals in the room today are probably our two tennis coaches, Jeff Zinn and Jeff Wyshner,” Athletics Director Ron Wellman said. “They are extremely excited about what these courts will do for our tennis programs at Wake Forest.”
When the center is completed, Wake Forest will have one of the best outdoor college facilities in the country.
Zinn has sketches of what the facility will look like that he might use during recruiting pitches, but said, “I haven’t done that yet.”
Combining the current indoor tennis center with the new outdoor courts will give the Wake Forest men’s and women’s programs ample practice space. And Zinn said that having an ATP tournament in town, such as the Winston-Salem Open, will only raise the profile of Wake Forest.
“This is huge,” Zinn said. “It puts us at the top of the ACC, that’s for sure. There are myriad reasons but just having this facility is first and foremost a big deal for our programs.”
The three Davis Cup ties at Joel Coliseum in 2001, 2007 and 2008 brought out tennis fans in droves, Zinn said, and he expects the ATP tournament in August to do the same.
“I don’t think the average person understands what the impact of this is,” Zinn said. “For a professional tournament to be coming to Winston-Salem is something I didn’t think would ever happen. Now, I see what it can do for not only the city, for Wake Forest, and obviously my tennis program, but everybody.”
Zinn and one of his assistants, Brett Ross, are trying to persuade Greensboro native John Isner, who is No. 19 in the current ATP rankings, to play here. Isner said yesterday he isn’t sure of his summer schedule and didn’t commit.
“Obviously, John and I are going to talk,” Zinn said. “This needs to be his hometown tournament, and with him being in the top 20 in the world now, you better believe I’m going to be pushing him hard to come play here. My assistant coach is good friends with John, and we’re reaching out to him already.”
Another benefit of the new tennis facility is that it will add to the athletic complex around BB&T Field.
“We will be able to use those courts for things and events way beyond what we are talking about today,” Wellman said. “When you think about this area of the city with the football stadium, the baseball park, the coliseum and now the tennis facility in this quadrant, this is quickly evolving into the athletic area of the city.”
jdell@wsjournal.com
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