The International Tennis Hall of Fame in Newport was founded a half-century ago on the site of the first U.S. National Tennis Championship, which took place in 1881. Today, the nonprofit Hall of Fame has inducted more than 200 players. It houses the world’s largest tennis museum and owns the world’s largest collection of tennis memorabilia. It also hosts events and competitions throughout the year.
Earlier this month, Christopher Clouser was named the new chairman of the institution’s board of directors. Clouser, a 25-year veteran of the corporate world, talked with PBN recently about his goals as chairman, the Hall of Fame’s future and how tennis stacks up against baseball and football.
PBN: What are your key goals?
CLOUSER: It is truly the one international museum and Hall of Fame of the entire sport around the world, and acknowledged by everybody in the game of tennis as a wonderful place, so to continue that legacy and enhance it is goal No. 1. … We [also] want to continue to solidify our sponsors, to have our ATP event and our champions’ cup event, and I would like to add a women’s tournament here at the Hall of Fame in a future summer.
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PBN: How is the Hall of Fame doing financially and in terms of visitors?
CLOUSER: It’s doing well. The tournaments have turned out to be a major success. The induction ceremonies have sold out in recent years. The profile, thanks to [Director of Communications] Kat [Anderson], is very well-known and understood. The board is attracting first-rate members. … It really has got a great future. … I hope to build on that legacy.
PBN: Fundraising is obviously an important part of maintaining any nonprofit institution. What do you think is the outlook for fundraising in the near and long term?
CLOUSER: We’re attracting good charitable support, in a market that’s been tough in the last 12 months; we acknowledge that. But I think the Hall of Fame is a good value for the contributor’s investment, because you can see the results of it each and every day.
The membership of the club is up significantly. Almost all the indoor court time, even during the winter, is completely sold out – being the only indoor court on the island is a little bit of an advantage – and, you know, the popularity of tennis is up. Usually, the popularity of tennis kind of goes with the popularity of your best players. [But] even though we don’t have an American right now who is No. 1, No. 2, No. 3 or No. 4, American tennis is up and the sport’s getting a lot of support and interest from new players.
PBN: Do you think Newport is still a good place for the Hall of Fame to be located?
CLOUSER: Yeah. … It’s a fabulous town and a fabulous experience for anyone who visits it – and it remains one of the greatest attractions here in Newport. But, no, the Hall of Fame is going nowhere, and we’re happy it’s here. We’re going to take parts of it on the road, though.
PBN: Tell me about the tennis events held here in Newport. Would you like to see more? How important a part of the Hall of Fame’s mission are they?
CLOUSER: We have the annual ATP Tournament, which is a regular tournament stop the week after Wimbledon. Top players in the world play in that tournament – it’s very well-attended. Also, in conjunction with that, we have the induction ceremony, where we install the new members of the Hall of Fame. … We have two dinners in their honor that weekend, usually broadcast throughout the world.
Then, in the second week of August, we have a champion’s cup tournament, which is the seniors, led by Jim Courier, John McEnroe and others – eight former champions come back who were at least a Grand Slam winner or ranked No. 1 in the world. There are camps. There are pro-ams [and] other things all throughout the summer. The kids’ clinics go on all the time here.
PBN: What is the Hall of Fame doing to increase international outreach and promotion?
CLOUSER: I would like to begin the effort to have a traveling exhibit to go to the major tournaments around the world. We’re not the U.S. Hall of Fame, we’re the International Hall of Fame, and participating internationally is critical to the mission of the Hall of Fame. We have agreed to begin the process of starting an international scholarship fund for young people. … Hopefully, we’ll work in conjunction with the Grand Slam Tournament and the tennis bodies in issuing those scholarships annually.
As we induct people into the Hall of Fame, we’re also hosting events for them in their home country, which is as important – coming to them, and to their fans and supporters – as supporting them in Newport. In March, we’ll go to Buenos Aires and celebrate Gabriela Sabatini and Guillermo Vilas. Last year we went to Australia and participated in the celebration for Pat Rafter, and then in November we were in Spain for Arantxa Sánchez Vicario.
We have sent exhibits to the end-of-the-year championships for the Women’s Tennis Association – last year it was in Madrid, this year it will be in Doha, the men’s finals will be in Shanghai. Last year we sent an exhibit to Greece for a championship tournament.
PBN: Do you think the Tennis Hall of Fame has the same cachet among tennis aficionados as, say, Cooperstown does among baseball fans?
CLOUSER: Yeah, I do – among the tennis community, absolutely. Among the general public, maybe not, because [the induction ceremony] has not been broadcast, until recent years, on television and covered as internationally by the print media. That’s part of our responsibility, to get that changed. •
INTERVIEW
CHRISTOPHER CLOUSER
POSITION: Chairman of the board of directors, International Tennis Hall of Fame, Newport
BACKGROUND: Joined board in 2001; became chairman of the executive committee in 2004.
FIRST JOB: At age 22, Clouser worked as a staff assistant for U.S. Sen. Thomas F.
Eagleton.
EDUCATION: University of Missouri, B.A. in journalism, 1973.
RESIDENCE:
Wellington, Fla.
AGE: 55
