East Palo Alto Tennis Program (EPATT)

The East Palo Alto Tennis Program began in 1990 after two years of sucessful summer programs organized by Jeff Arons of the Youth Tennis Foundation, an organization that promotes tennis instruction for inner-city youth. After consultation with the superintendant of the Ravenswood City School District, Dr. Charlie Mae Knight, four tennis courts were built on the site of the Ravenswood Middle School (now the Cezar Chavez Academy). By the spring of 1991, the program fielded a team of twelve players to compete in the middle school league and in sanctioned tennis tournaments throughout the Bay Area. In 1992, the program implemented an academic tutorial where 21 team members received academic assistance in a one-on-one relationship with a volunteer academic tutor.

Since then, the program has grown tremendously. In 1995 the Association of Tennis Professionals honored EPATT as one of the nation's top 10 inner city tennis programs. Today, approximately 100 children participate in both the tennis instruction and academic tutorial. In addition, more than 100 volunteers work with the program on a consistent basis. In 1997 the program moved to Stanford University, and it now operates at the Taube Family Tennis Stadium.