Bobby Austell

Greenville, S. C.

Inducted 2021

Bobby Austell is a former junior and college player who has dedicated years of service to tennis as a player, volunteer, high school coach, fundraiser and benefactor. 

Player:

• Grew up in Spartanburg where he was ranked #3 in the state, played #1 singles and doubles for Spartanburg High School and was the team MVP and spring sports MVP. 
• Played #1 singles and doubles for Davidson College where he was the team Captain and MVP.
• Continued playing tennis after college while working in real estate development and banking. 

Won several Father-Son Doubles championships with his son Glenn and played in the National Clay Court Championships and the Equitable National Champions held at the U. S. Open.

Coach:

• The primary coach to tennis-playing sons Robert and Glenn.  Glenn was a top 10 state junior player and was a scholarship athlete at Presbyterian College. 
• Following a 40-year working career, Bobby became the volunteer coach of the Christ Church boys’ tennis team in 2004.  He coached 13 years.  His teams made the finals of the A-AA high school championships 12 years and won 6 state titles.
• Took his teams to four High School All-American tournaments in California and established the Stan Smith Sportsmanship Award which his team later won.
• Received numerous coaching awards, including the 2012 USTA South Carolina Coach of the Year.

Fundraiser, Benefactor & Volunteer:

• Chaired the 1981 American Federal Tennis Classic which included 8 ATP touring professionals.
• The Salvation Army of Greenville received a grant from the Ray and Joan Kroc Foundation in 2004 to provide two thirds of the money needed to fund a community center.  The original plans did not include tennis.  Bobby convinced the committee to add a tennis center and raised the additional $1.2 million for the land, building and courts, plus he led the effort to raise $13 million to build the entire Kroc complex.
• The Kroc Tennis Center opened in 2011 and included a tennis center with stadium court, 8 clay courts, 8 hard courts and a clubhouse.  The Center has over 700 members, hosts over 150 adult league teams and has been recognized as the USTA-SC Member Facility of the Year and the USTA National Facility of the Year.  Bobby leads the effort each year as the Kroc Tennis Center provides over 4,000 hours of pro bono outreach tennis clinics to children and adults.
• Organizes and coordinates Legacy Charter High School outreach clinics and senior men’s doubles groups.  He works with underserved youth and men from the Greenville Rescue mission and special needs children at Cleveland Park and J. L. Mann High School.
• Serves on the Board of the South Carolina Tennis Patrons Foundation and chairs the Youth Program Grants Committee.  He implemented a program to present sportsmanship plaques to players at the state high school individual tournaments and provide sportsmanship banners to team champions and finalists each season.