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| Address | 1600 Pennsylvania Ave Washington D.C. United States |
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| Location | White HouseSouth Lawn |
| Coordinates | 38°53′46″N77°02′14″W / 38.89614°N 77.03714°W /38.89614; -77.03714 |
| Type | Tennis court |
| Event | Sporting events |
| Executive suites | 1 |
| Field size | 78 by 38 feet (24 m × 12 m) |
| Field shape | Rectangular |
| Surface | Hardcourt |
| Construction | |
| Built | 1911[1] |
| Renovated | 2020 |
Thetennis court at theWhite House, the official residence of thepresident of the United States inWashington, D.C., is located on theSouth Lawn. Lines have been drawn, and baskets have since been added to the court for use as abasketball court. Basketball Court Lines were removed in 2020 with the construction of the new Tennis Pavilion.
The first tennis court at the White House was built on the south side of the West Wing during the presidency ofTheodore Roosevelt, the present location of the West Wing's south terrace. Roosevelt often played here with his son.[2][3] The court became renowned as the haunt of Roosevelt's 'Tennis cabinet', an informal regular gathering of his closet associates.[4] On 1 March 1909 Roosevelt gave a lunch and speech to say farewell to his 'Tennis cabinet'.United Press described the gathering as a "famous coterie of afternoon sportsmen that has been the power "behind the white house" for over seven years". Attendees included people as diverse as the French ambassadorJean Jules Jusserand, the Supreme Court JusticeWilliam Henry Moody, soldierLuther "Yellowstone" Kelly, the Oklahoman wolf hunter John Abernathy andPudge Heffelfinger, the football player.[5]
In 1910, a court was built on the site of the presentoutdoor swimming pool.[2]Bill Tilden and his protégée Sandy Wiener played on the court in 1923. The son ofGrace andCalvin Coolidge, Calvin Jr., died of blood poisoning at age 16 after getting a blister as he played without socks on the court in June 1924.[3] The first women's tennis exhibition at the White House was hosted byFlorence Harding at the court.[2] The court was relocated south to its present location. DuringJimmy Carter's presidency, it was reported that the President personally oversaw the court's playing schedule. TheLos Angeles Times wrote that this "came to be a popular symbol of what many felt was the fatal flaw of his presidency: the unwillingness to delegate authority on small matters". However, according to his domestic policy advisorStuart Eizenstat, Carter only asked his staff to sign up in advance to avoid coming to the court when he or First LadyRosalynn were playing.[6]Bert Lance, the Director of theOffice of Management and Budget who was accused of corruption, gave his resignation to Carter during a match on the court.[3] Carter's Chief of Staff,Hamilton Jordan, was a regular player on the court and was often seen wearing his tennis outfit in his office at the White House.[3]
George H. W. Bush was a regular tennis player. His press secretaryMarlin Fitzwater said that Bush would "subconsciously...[judge] people by their competitive attitude on the courts". Bush would also regularly recount past games with aides, and on-court conversations could prove more effective at getting his attention than sending memos.[7] The court was enlarged by Bush in 1989. He playeddoubles tennis on the court with American tennis playerPete Sampras in 1990.[2] Bush also played with thepresident of South Korea,Roh Tae-woo, in 1991.[8]
A pavilion for the tennis court was built under the administration ofDonald Trump in 2020. The ground was broken on the project byMelania Trump, who had helped design the pavilion. TheNational Park Service stated that it would "provide a unifying element for the tennis court, the Children's Garden and the Kitchen Garden" and replace a maintenance building used by groundstaff called "The Pony Shed". The tennis pavilion is 1,200 square feet in size and 18 ft high. It has a copper roof and is clad in limestone. The neo-classical style of the White House inspired the design of the pavilion. Private donations funded it.[9]
The first celebrity tennis exhibition to raise funds for the Nancy Reagan Drug Abuse Fund was held on the court in May 1985. A fundraising target of $450,000 was set (equivalent to $1,315,610 in 2024), with nine corporate sponsors contributing $50,000 each. Two hundred guests of the sponsors were seated in temporarybleacher seats. The general public was not invited.[3] Participants included football playersMarcus Allen,Rolf Benirschke,Dwight Clark, andJeff Kemp, swimmerSteve Lundquist, basketball playerJohn Havlicek and the actorsCathy Lee Crosby,Robert Duvall,Veronica Hamel andDina Merrill. Politicians includedJohn Herrington,Paul Laxalt,Joe Wright,William H. Webster, the Director of the FBI and Swedish ambassadorWilhelm Wachtmeister. The centerpiece of the inaugural tournament was the doubles match viewed byRonald andNancy Reagan, which sawJohn Forsythe andPam Shriver take onRoscoe Tanner and the Secretary of StateGeorge Shultz. The match was umpired by the actorsTom Selleck andBrooke Shields.[3][10]
Participants in the 1986 tournament included tennis playerStan Smith andAshok andVijay Amritraj, actorsChuck Norris andStephanie Zimbalist, and basketball playerJulius Erving and football playerHerschel Walker.Mr. T was an umpire.[11]
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Basketball lines were drawn and baskets added so it could be used as abasketball court during the presidency ofBarack Obama in 2009.[2] Obama celebrated his 50th birthday with a game of basketball on the court organized by his friends and his aideReggie Love.[12] The game featured theNBA andWNBA playersShane Battier,LeBron James,Magic Johnson,Maya Moore,Alonzo Mourning,Joakim Noah,Chris Paul andDerrick Rose in addition to Obama's friends from high school.[12]Kobe Bryant andBill Russell were spectators.[12]
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