International Tennis Hall of Fame's "TennisWorthy" series brings one word to life

One word. Imagine that. One word to summarize a significant and highly emotional aspect of a person’s life. This is the premise of TennisWorthy presented by Infosys, a 10-episode series of short form videos created by the International Tennis Hall of Fame (ITHF). The series focuses on highlighting the human characteristics embodied by the game, and legacies left by tennis’ greatest champions beyond their results on court.

Katie Walsh, director of the series, found it particularly captivating to see how these tennis legends currently regard such signature moments, sharing their reflections many years after those events first happened.

“These Hall of Famers are now in their second careers,” said Walsh. “They’re able to draw a more mature perspective about what their careers brought to them—things that transcend any trophy or title.”

A Peabody and Emmy award winner, Walsh has worked extensively in sports. One of her most recent projects was Simone VS Herself, a seven-part documentary series about gymnast Simone Biles and the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.

“I love sports stories that are less about sports and more about people,” said Walsh. “That has been a theme in my career from the beginning: Sports as a vehicle to tell a story about the human condition.”

TennisWorthy’s first seven episodes showcase several powerful themes and moments. In the September 15 opener, Australian star Lleyton Hewitt, inducted into the ITHF this past summer, addresses “tradition” with a thoughtful look at his homeland’s deep affinity for team competition. Hewitt explains how the concept of tradition played out when, as a teenager, he first joined Australia’s Davis Cup squad under the tutelage of fellow Hall of Famers John Newcombe and Tony Roche.

Team play also figures strongly in two other TennisWorthy pieces that carry considerable emotion. In the November 10 edition, the subject is all-time great Martina Navratilova. The word is “sacrifice,” a reference to the 18-year-old Navratilova’s 1975 decision to leave her homeland of Czechoslovakia and seek asylum in the United States so that she could freely pursue her dream of becoming a champion. As the story reveals, Navratilova did not return to Czechoslovakia until 1986 to compete in the Federation Cup (now known as the Billie Jean King Cup), an international women’s team event. Powerfully, Navratilova reconnected with a country she feared she’d never set foot in again.

For Vijay Amritraj, a 2021 recipient of the ITHF’s Golden Achievement Award, just about nothing meant more to him than the chance for his native India to claim the Davis Cup title. And in 1974, with the 20-year-old Amritraj leading the way, India made it all the way to the finals, set to take on South Africa. But one greater value was the single word featured in the September 27 TennisWorthy piece: “integrity.” Protesting South Africa’s harsh apartheid government, India’s leaders opted to withdraw from the competition. Eager as Amritraj and his teammates were to play, they well understood and endorsed this decision.

In a vein simultaneously thoughtful and humorous, the October 4 edition of TennisWorthy explores “innovation” and the remarkable legacy left by the iconic coach, Vic Braden (posthumously inducted in 2017). Braden’s superpower was his ability to dig deeply into the science of tennis—and present it in a way concurrently informative and entertaining.

The other three pieces of TennisWorthy’s first seven episodes focus on 2006 inductee Patrick Rafter’s strong commitment to “service” and his quest to rehabilitate koalas (September 20), the relentless “dedication” that earned coach Nick Bollettieri a place in the 2014 Hall of Fame class (October 11), and the photographic artistry of Carol Newsom, a “pioneer” who was the first female photographer permitted on Wimbledon’s Centre Court (November 3).

TennisWorthy’s storytelling premise was a natural fit for Walsh.

“Tennis is its own world, and I’m an outsider, looking in,” said Walsh. “That’s a benefit and a challenge. Being enough of a fan, but an outsider, allows me to bring a fresh perspective. I love hearing people talk about themselves and what make them tick. The stories are new to me, just like they’re new to our viewers.”

While many of Walsh’s prior pieces have been several hours long, the TennisWorthy stories are short—none lasting more than three minutes.

“The challenge with that little time is to create emotion and connection,” said Walsh. “You need to dig out and quickly reveal all the pieces of the puzzle.”

With that, one word for TennisWorthy: compelling.