Robert Stubbs becomes FMTC tennis pro.

While the Club had employed tennis pros off and on since 1931, most taught only a day or two a week and remained at the Club a short while before moving on. The pattern changed when Robert Stubbs arrived to teach daily in May and June of 1947, during Charlie O’Hearn’s presidency.

One of the nation’s leading clay court players, Stubbs won the U.S. Professional Lawn Tennis Association Singles title in 1947 and 1948, and with partner Mitch Gornto he won the Doubles title in 1953 and 1954, the second year against Bobby Riggs and Frank Kovacks. He played the pro tour with Donald Budge and Pancho Segura.

Stubbs’ lessons were so popular that one of the Club’s five existing courts was being taken over, and the need for an extra court became urgent. When the original paddle courts on the Club’s Church Street property finally were torn down, a new clay practice court and backstop were built there in 1953.

In his nine years as FMTC pro, Bob Stubbs greatly improved the caliber of tennis at the Club and sharpened the skills of a generation of Club youngsters. His particular strength was an ability to improve and inspire young players and hone their game to a fine competitive edge.

Source: Diana Reische, Fox Meadow Tennis Club-The First Hundred Years, 1983