Game, Set, Match: Tennis in Lincoln

by Jesse Starita

On a picturesque morning last spring, tennis players from throughout Lincoln came together to do something they’d never done: celebrate the first-ever Play Tennis Lincoln Day. Organized by the all-volunteer Lincoln Tennis Association and hosted at the pristine Sid and Hazel Dillon Tennis Center, the event reflected the sport’s growing popularity in our community. 

That popularity is surging nationwide. According to the United States Tennis Association, 23.6 million Americans played the game in 2022, a 33 percent increase over 2019. Play Tennis Lincoln Day rallied more than one hundred tennis enthusiasts for games, drills, camaraderie, free Runzas and T-shirts—and even a proclamation by Lincoln Mayor Leirion Gaylor Baird to mark the special occasion.  

Lincoln Tennis Association President Shalla Powell-Mandigo helped organize the event and said it showcased Lincoln’s swelling interest in tennis. “The sport is growing and the wait lists for lessons grow every year. Tennis at the local level is in an even better place today.”

Our tennis scene is flourishing thanks to people like Powell-Mandigo and organizations like the one she leads. The Lincoln Tennis Association’s mission is to build the sport of tennis locally and be the go-to resource for players, coaches, facilities, and supporters. One of the association’s signature events is Lincoln Tennis Volunteer Day, which brings together board members and volunteers to clean up courts, paint lines, and build backboards every summer. 

Keeping our city’s tennis courts clean and attractive is important given their increased use. More and more players are taking to the courts through a variety of recreational leagues. The beloved Ace Bandage Tennis League, or ABTL, is one such league.  

Vince Ganshorn created ABTL in 1999 as a way for his friends to start playing tennis together. That first year started with a mere eight players but grew annually. Today, roughly 250 Lincolnites play singles
and doubles through the league. While local youth and team tennis players
have their respective outlets, Ganshorn says ABTL fulfills a need in the adult tennis community.

“It fills that void for people who want to play and form the camaraderie and friendship from competitive tennis,”
he explained. 

I first discovered the ABTL in 2012. For just $25, I got an entire season’s worth of matches against fellow tennis junkies. The league pairs players of similar skill levels, provides flexible match scheduling, and coordinates a season-ending tournament with prizes. For me, ABTL’s biggest reward was the opportunity to overcome my faults and break points—both on the court and in my head. Yes, I was that tortured soul who, as an adult in a recreational league, tossed his Wilson around the court in miserable outbursts. Tennis does funny things to your mind. 

Registration for ABTL singles opens in early spring and the season begins on April 15, runs through the end of July, and concludes with a late summer tournament. Doubles registration opens in May and league play starts in mid-July and runs through September. Anyone interested in learning more and registering may visit abtlleague.com.  

Lincoln’s public tennis courts are another gem for current players or those picking up a racket for the first time. The City of Lincoln’s Parks and Recreation Department boasts 19 community parks in its system with tennis facilities. That equates to 59 courts in every quadrant of our city.

In 2022, the department released an Outdoor Racket Court Facilities Master Plan. The plan provides guidance for the development of outdoor, open-play racket sports facilities and prioritizes those improvements into future projects (for both tennis and the wildly popular pickleball). J.J. Yost, the department’s planning and facilities manager, says the majority of public racket courts are experiencing a high amount of use, accentuating the need for city teams to work alongside residents to further develop infrastructure to support the game.   

“I appreciate Lincoln’s racket sports players’ willingness to contribute to the solutions they seek,” Yost said. “They are passionate about their sport, experience the need to add and maintain facilities, and work with us as we strive to make equitable and efficient use of our available resources.”

In addition to our community’s public courts, there are several private clubs that foster the sport’s development. Rick Stempson is the director of tennis at the Lincoln Country Club, one of Lincoln’s oldest and most established clubs. He oversees the organization’s three outdoor courts, on which 165 kids and 100 adults play and take lessons. Looking ahead, Stempson says they may match the ballooning interest in tennis with a bubble of their own. 

“We are really exploring the idea of getting a seasonal bubble installed to play during the winter months.”

Bubble or not, youngsters like eight-year-old Levi Wilcox are already discovering the game’s many benefits. When asked why he likes the sport, the blond, wavy-haired Levi responded with a crisp volley of his own.

“I like tennis because I meet a lot of new friends and I have fun.”