Tally Holmes

Who is Tally Holmes?

Tally Holmes was an African American tennis player in the 1910s and 1920s.

He was the winner of the men’s singles division of the first National Tennis Championship in 1917. This tournament is now a yearly production put on by the American Tennis Association. Tally not only competed in the championship and won, but he was also one of the founders of the ATA. The founders of the ATA consisted of black businessmen, physicians, and college professors. Tally and other representatives from dozens of black tennis clubs in the area met in Washington D.C. on Thanksgiving Day in 1916, to create a more organized way for black youths to participate in tennis. The group of men created the American Tennis Association, which is the oldest African American sports organization in the United States. The American Tennis Association was formed as a way to improve the standards of African American tennis clubs, and to organize yearly nation tournament for black players to compete in. The ATA was also supposed keep track of local tennis tournaments to avoid scheduling problems. The ATA also organized athletic competitions for the black community, encouraged physical activity in youth, and fought racism in tennis. In August of the next year the ATA held their first National Tennis Championship. The championship was hosted by Monumental Tennis Club, now renamed the Baltimore Tennis Club, and was held at Baltimore’s Druid Hill Park. The championship consisted of three divisions, men’s singles, women’s singles, and men’s doubles. Holmes competed in the men’s singles, and men’s doubles, he won singles and he and his partner, Sylvester Smith won in pairs. Lucy Slowe was named the first women’s singles champion. Tally Holmes continued to play tennis, and he went on to win the men’s singles division of the tournament in 1918, 1921, and 1924.