Two years before Sloane Stephens was born, John McEnroe, Andre Agassi and Pete Sampras descended on the island of Hawaii for a first-round Davis Cup match.
It meant little to the outside tennis world, but its impact on Hawaii tennis is recalled fondly to this day.
Last weekend’s Fed Cup tie at Holua Tennis Center might be just as memorable and its impact as ferocious as Venus Williams’ forehand. Already, the local USTA section is putting together a bid to host next year’s Davis Cup.
“Everybody is asking what’s next,” says USTA Hawaii Pacific Section Executive Director Ron Romano. “We started the year with the Maui Challengers and Fed Cup so what’s next? … We’re trying to line everything up to get support to try and do the Davis Cup here in 2017.”
The venue will have to be at least twice as large as Holua, which squeezed in 2,000 and sold out in a matter of hours, just as Davis Cup did in 1992. Romano and Hawaii Tourism Authority chair Rick Fried, a devoted tennis player instrumental in bringing the Fed Cup here, are looking at Royal Lahaina, which hosted the $50,000 men’s and women’s USTA Challengers the week before Fed Cup.
USTA Chairman of the Board, CEO and President Katrina Adams eagerly anticipates the bid, along with her players. Williams, Stephens, Coco Vandeweghe and Bethany Mattek-Sands were outspoken about the happiness they felt in Hawaii all last week. Poland, the team they vanquished, walked together in a joyous haze whenever it was not being beaten on Holua’s hot court.
“We were excited to be here, it was a great opportunity, perfect timing,” Adams said. “Timing is everything — the players were all coming back from Australia. It was kind of on the way back to the rest of the world if you will. It all worked out and it’s been a great success. We hope to have the opportunity in the future for either a Davis Cup or a Fed Cup here, but the stars have to align.
“Everyone would love to come to Hawaii and play, but a lot of different factors go into it.”
The U.S. Fed Cup team will travel to Australia for the World Group Playoffs April 16-17, it was announced Tuesday. Australia is seeded No. 8 and the U.S. unseeded.
The winner advances to World Group in 2017 and the loser competes in World Group II next year. The teams haven’t met since 1985, but the U.S. beat Australia to win the inaugural Fed Cup in 1963. The last of the Americans’ 17 Fed Cup titles came in 2000. They haven’t been to a final since 2010.
There are 20 Americans — 12 women — in the Top 100 today, including all last week’s Fed Cup players and Christina McHale (No. 62), who won the Maui Challenger.
Adams insists “the growth is there,” but for now it is still hard to see beyond Williams — who “would make a phenomenal Fed Cup captain,” according to Fed Cup captain Mary Joe Fernandez — and her top-ranked little sister Serena, who is 34.
If it hadn’t been last weekend Serena, part of USA Mini’s “Defy Labels” Super Bowl push, might have been in Kailua-Kona after her remarkably gracious performance at the Australian Open trophy ceremony. Williams was denied a seventh title in Melbourne by Angelique Kerber, who won her first grand slam. Williams looked genuinely happy Kerber had broken through.
“Serena knows the guard will be changing in the immediate future,” said Adams, the first African-American and former player to lead the USTA. “I think when she does walk away from the game a couple years from now she knows the next generation of players are going to be leaders, going to be competitors. I think it was very touching for all of us. She was very gracious and it was welcome around the world.”
Adams also welcomed Hawaii’s chanting, somewhat crazy “Fed Cup mentality” last weekend. She rarely sees it from American crowds.
For Romano, the atmosphere was ideal.
“Just having everybody involved in tennis come together,” he said. “They all came out and it was just a great community event, not to mention having some great players like Venus there. Everybody that came to see it was so excited, so supportive. Everybody loved it. I didn’t hear a negative comment from a player or fan.
“I had the feeling all along that this elevates and brings tennis up to the forefront for a lot of people. It does the same thing for the image of the USTA. People sometimes ask who is the USTA and what do they do? This helps them understand what we do.”
