Cincinnati Tennis Foundation breaks ground on $10 million tennis and education center

The Cincinnati Tennis Foundation broke ground Wednesday on a $10 million tennis and education center designed to give more young people in Greater Cincinnati access to sports, academic resources and mentorship.

The First Serve Tennis and Education Center will serve as a year-round campus featuring indoor tennis and pickleball courts, classrooms, a community hub, a kitchen and fully accessible amenities.

The project has raised more than $8 million toward its $10 million goal, including a $3.5 million cornerstone gift from the First Serve Community Fund.

The center is intended to address barriers that can prevent young people from participating in organized sports, including financial limitations, transportation challenges and accessibility needs.

According to the foundation, 75.1% of youth in Greater Cincinnati from households earning less than $25,000 do not participate in organized sports.

Once completed, the center is expected to add 800 hours of after-school programming each year and provide academic support, mentoring, nutrition and life-skills programming to at least 50 young people daily.

So, its really important to us that this is not just a bunch of tennis courts. We have a very integral community hub space. Its going to have classrooms to fit almost 100 kids. Were going to have kids receiving nutrition, math, reading, and financial literacy every day, with a full-time educator," said Matthew Dektas

CEO, Cincinnati Tennis Foundation.

Then theyll also play sports like tennis and pickleball, and maybe even others.

The foundation also expects the facility to double the number of youth and athletes with physical and intellectual disabilities it serves annually.

The project is part of the foundation's Rally for Dreams campaign, which aims to create a permanent home for tennis, education and community programming.

Construction is underway at 1920 Tennessee Ave. in Norwood, with completion expected in fall 2027.