For our sixth annual Heroes Issue, we’ve selected passages from the last 50 years of Tennis Magazine and TENNIS.com—starting in 1969 and ending in 2018—to highlight 50 worthy heroes. Each passage acknowledges the person as they were then; each subsequent story catches up with the person, or highlights their impact, as they are now. It is best summed up with a quote from the great Arthur Ashe, that was featured on the cover of the November/December issue of this magazine in 2015: “True heroism is remarkably sober, very undramatic. It is not the urge to surpass all others at whatever cost, but the urge to serve others at whatever cost.”
He has convinced me that he is trying to improve the game of tennis, both amateur and professional. His willingness to help the game grow is coupled with more ability and guts than most of us have. - Marty Riessen / January 1969 issue
Donald Dell might not be the first person that comes to mind upon hearing the phrase, “It’s better to give than to receive.” A three-time All-American at Yale, Dell became the youngest captain of a winning U.S. Davis Cup team and earned praise for his leadership on the court. Off the court, he became one of tennis’ first agents, backing top players—Arthur Ashe, Stan Smith, Tracy Austin, to name a few—when the game was only beginning to realize its economic potential.
“Any one of the players associated with Donald are never going to have to work for a living after they’re finished playing tennis,” said Jack Kramer, who helped establish the ATP with Dell. The agent’s financial savvy benefited the sport at large.
Dell’s greatest gift, however, was something he simply gave away. Years after co-founding the first pro tournament in Washington, D.C., he donated his ownership in the event to the Washington Tennis & Education Foundation. In addition to helping local junior tennis programs, Dell did so, according to Octagon president Phil de Picciotto, “for the betterment of young tennis players in the city, the improvement of the community, and the evolution of the game of tennis globally.”
In 2009, Dell was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame in Newport. In 2018, the Citi Open marked the 50th anniversary of pro tennis in D.C. But Dell’s impact on the sport can be felt across the country, thanks to the countless players he gave so much of himself to.
