MEET

Katrina M. Adams

GLOBAL SPEAKER l AUTHOR l ANALYST l LEADER

Katrina Adams has a remarkable record of accomplishment in leadership and innovation as the first African American to head the USTA, serving as Chair and President from 2015 to 2018 and as the first former player in that role. Under her leadership, the USTA opened the National Campus and transformed the Billie Jean King National Tennis Center while promoting tennis in underserved communities.

A former WTA Tour player for 12 years, Adams won 20 Doubles Titles. In 2024, she received an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters degree from Northwestern University and was honored with the 2023 IOC Gender Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion Champions Award for her advocacy in sports. Recently, she was elected Honorary Life Vice President of the International Tennis Federation after eight years as Vice President.

Adams has chaired the Billie Jean King Cup Committee and the Advantage All Committee and was a member of the International Tennis Hall of Fame Executive Board. She currently serves on the Billie Jean King Cup Limited Board and as the Chair of the International Tennis Hall of Fame Induction Committee. She also serves as Executive Director/President of the Harlem Junior Tennis and Education Program and has roles in private sector boards, including Athletes Unlimited. A global speaker and commentator, her debut novel, “Own the Arena,” was published in February 2021.

BOARDS SERVED:

  • Harlem Junior Tennis and Education Program, Inc.
    New York, NY: 2005 - Present, Executive Director/President

    United States Tennis Association (USTA)
    White Plains, NY: 2005 - 2020, Chair & President 

    United States Tennis Association Foundation (USTAF)
    White Plains, NY: 2005 - 2015, Director at Large

    United States Tennis Association (USTA)
    Atlanta, GA: 1999 - 2002, National Coach, USTA High Performance 

  • WTA Players’ Association
    Miami, FL: 1990 - 1998, Vice President (1996 - 1997) & Treasurer (1994 - 1995) 

    Women’s Tennis Association
    Miami, FL: 1994 - 1998, Board Member 

    International Tennis Federation (ITF)
    London, England: 2015 - 2023, Vice President, ITF Board of Directors

    International Tennis Hall of Fame (ITHF)
    Newport, RI: 2014 - 2023, Board of Governors

    Billie Jean King Cup Limited
    London, England: 2023 - Present, Board of Directors

  • Athletes Unlimited
    New York, NY: 2020 - Present, Independent Director (2022 - Present) & Advisory Board Member (2020 - 2022)    

    GSE Worldwide
    New York, NY: 2021 - 2024, Independent Director & Remuneration Committee Member 

  • Junior Tennis Foundation
    Board of Directors, 2022 - Present

    Women’s Skydiving Network
    Advisory Board, 2021 - Present

    Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority
    Nominating Committee, 2020 - Present

    AthleticDirectorU
    Board of Advocates, 2020 - Present

    Full Court Tennis
    Advisory Board, 2020 - Present

    Ross Initiative for Sports Equality (RISE)
    Director at Large, 2015 - 2020

    Anti-Defamation League (ADL)
    Sports Leadership Council Member, 2017 - 2019  

  • For 25 years integrally involved in the presentation of professional tennis to a global audience and have co-hosted a women’s sports  show directed to attracting a larger female audience while earning the respect of male sports fans.

    CBS Sports Network
    We Need To Talk, 2014 - Present

    Featured analyst for domestic and global broadcast networks: 

    • Tennis Channel, Analyst (2003 - Present)

    • Tennis Channel French Open coverage (2005 - 2015)

    • US Open World Feed (2003 - Present)

    • CBS Sports (2020 - Present)

    • World Team Tennis, Analyst (2009 - 2022)

    • CBS Sports Network, Coverage, US Open Qualifying (2012 - 2014)

    • MSG Network, Battle of the Stars/BNP Paribas Showdown at MSG (2012 - 2014) 

    • World Feed, WTA Finals, Istanbul and Singapore (2010 - 2018) 

    • Big Ten Network, Women’s Tennis Championship (2009 - 2011) 

    • World Feed Coverage, The Pilot Pen Championships, New Haven, CT (1999) 

    • ESPN, Bausch and Lomb Championships, Amelia Island, FL (1999) 

    • World Feed, The Lipton Championships, Key Biscayne, FL (1999) 

    • BET, United Negro College Fund (UNCF) Celebrity Golf and Tennis Challenge (1998 - 2001)

  • Motivational Speaker
    1988 – Present 

    Keynote speaker for business forums, youth programs, schools, coaches’ symposiums, awards luncheons, galas, and tennis events.

    Recent 2022 - 2023 engagements include:

    • TedX talk in Boston focusing on topics including ‘Winning’, ‘Leadership’ and ‘Gender Equality’  

    • Paraguay Olympic Committee, presentation on DEI, Gender Equality 

    • National Recreation & Parks Association National Convention, Dallas, TX 

    • Women’s Business Development Council of Connecticut 

    • Northwestern University, Title IX at 50: Past. Present. Future, Evanston, IL 

    • McGuire Woods, LLC, presentation on Leadership, motivational, growth, mindset, “How to be the Best You”

    • Guilford College Bryan Series: One-on-One with Venus Williams, Greensboro, NC

  • ‘Own The Arena’
    Published by Harper Collins and Amistad Books Imprint 2021    

    ‘Own the Arena’ takes the experiences and lessons of life in tennis, both as a professional and an organizational leader, and applies them to all aspects of career building and self-leadership. 

    Adams shares how she builds her skills and endurance, surrounds herself with great coaches, leverages diversity, and plays  aggressively at the net to become a world-class leader in sport and business.

HONORS & HALL OF FAME INDUCTIONS

 

HONORS:


Forbes Magazine
Most Powerful Women in Sports (2017 + 2018)

NAMIC
Mickey Leland Humanitarian Achievement Award (2017)

Ebony Magazine
Power 100 List (2017)

Adweek Magazine
The Most Powerful Women in Sports List (2016 + 2017)

Sports Business Daily
Game Changers (2015) 

The Network Journal
25 Influential Black Women in Business (2015) 

U.S. Tennis Association
Eastern Section Woman of The Year (2010) 

Sam Lacy Pioneer Award
National Association of Black Journalists (NABJ) (2009) 

U.S. Tennis Association
Service Bowl Award (2007) 

Spirit of Harlem
Award (2007) 

WTA
Althea Gibson Achievement Award (2003) 

WTA
Player Service Award (1989)

 

HALL OF FAME INDUCTIONS:


RSPA
Hall of Fame (2024) 

Chicagoland Sports
Hall of Fame (2021) 

Boys & Girls Club of America
Hall of Fame (2016)

USTA Eastern Section
Hall of Fame (2015) 

ITA Women’s Collegiate Tennis
Hall of Fame (2014)

Black Tennis
Hall of Fame (2012) 

Chicago District Tennis Association
Hall of Fame (2009)

USTA Midwest Section
Hall of Fame (2007) 

Northwestern University
Hall of Fame (1998)

 
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“You will not find a more relatable, humorous and authentic leader than Katrina. Her trailblazing journey of resilience and success as "the first" from the community courts to the top of tennis leadership serves as an inspiration for us all.” 

STACEY ALLASTER, USTA CHIEF EXECUTIVE, PROFESSIONAL TENNIS