Parker-Haun Tennis Facility receives national recognition
The University of Alabama's Parker-Haun Tennis Facility has received national recognition with an award from the United States Tennis Association.
The Parker-Haun Tennis Facility, which had its ribbon cutting on October 1, 2021, is one of 33 winners in the USTA's 2022 Outstanding Facility Awards program "which recognizes excellence in the construction and/or renovation of tennis facilities throughout the country,"per a press release from the USTA.
Parker-Haun --which is named after lead donors Tim and Cathy Parker and Charlie and Alice Haun--is the only tennis facility in the country constructed specifically for wheelchair tennis and is home to the seven-time national champion University of Alabama wheelchair tennis team, part of the broader Alabama Adapted Athletics program.
"Great tennis facilities like the Parker-Haun Tennis Facility help us to grow the game at the grassroots level, and we are proud to recognize them for their ongoing impact on the sport of tennis," said Craig Morris, Chief Executive, Community Tennis, USTA, in the press release."Parker-HaunTennis Facility has embraced many of our tennis initiatives and kept the sport at the forefront of its community each year."
USTA contributed $10,000 towards the project as part of its investment towards efforts to bolster wheelchair tennis in the United States.
"This again pushes the boundaries and advances the mission that I think our program embodies and that we hope other programs embody."University of Alabama wheelchair tennis head coach
Evan Enquist said at the time of the ribbon-cutting."We want to give our athletes the same experience as any other able-bodied collegiate athlete on campus."
Enquist was paraphrasing the University of Alabama Adapted Athletics program's mission, which is"to provide our athletes the same elite competitive collegiate experience as every other collegiate athlete on campus."
The $1.2 million, 3,835-square foot facility, located immediately adjacent to the student recreation tennis courts, includes locker rooms for both teams, an athletic training room, offices for the coaching staff, and conference rooms.
Parker-Haun is also used by the University of Alabama club tennis team as well as the Tuscaloosa Tennis Association (the local Community Tennis Association) and can be used by members of the university community and surrounding community for recreational play.
Facilities were judged on the criteria of: overall layout and adaptation to site; excellence of court surface and lights; ease of maintenance; accommodations for players, spectators and press/officials; aesthetics; graphics (including the use of signs and landscaping); amenities such as casual seating for spectators, food services and social areas; and the facilities' participation in USTA programs.
The Parker-Haun Tennis Facility is the only tennis facility in the state to be recognized in this year's USTA's Outstanding Facility Awards and is one of only two educational institution tennis facilities to be recognized.
