The United States Tennis Association (USTA) today announced that Charlie Pasarell was presented with the National Junior Tennis and Learning (NJTL) Founders’ Service Award. Pasarell was recognized at the 2024 USTA Annual Meeting & Conference at the JW Marriott Orlando Grande Lakes Resort in Orlando, Florida.

Pasarell is a two-time Grand Slam quarterfinalist who won 23 career singles titles and 30 career doubles titles. He transcended the amateur and Open Eras and went on to have a long administrative career in the sport. A native of San Juan, Puerto Rico and a longtime resident of California, Pasarell revived the Indian Wells tournament in 1981, saving it from relocation. He was its tournament director from 1981-2009, continued his association with the event until 2012, and transformed the tournament into the largest combined men’s and women’s tour-level event. Pasarell, together with Donald Dell, Jack Kramer and Cliff Drysdale, formed the Association of Tennis Professionals, what’s known today as the ATP Tour, in 1972. In 2013, Pasarell was elected into the International Tennis Hall of Fame.

In the 1960s, Pasarell noticed the need to make tennis more accessible to diverse youth. He, along with Arthur Ashe and Sheridan Snyder, co-founded the National Junior Tennis and Learning (NJTL) network in 1969. Today, the NJTL network includes over 250 chapters and provides free or low-cost tennis and academic programming to more than 150,000 under-resourced youth nationwide. Pasarell has called the founding of the NJTL network “the highest thing, the best thing” he achieved in the game.

“Charlie is not only one of the most influential people in tennis, he is a hero to the countless young people who have been impacted by his passion, dedication, and resounding care for others to make tennis and education accessible to people of all backgrounds,” said Ginny Ehrlich, Chief Executive Officer, USTA Foundation. “We are confident that the NJTL network will continue to thrive for years to come as a result of Charlie’s leadership, and we are thrilled to honor him with this deserving recognition.”

Established in 2010, the NJTL Founders’ Service Award recognizes an individual who has demonstrated a longstanding commitment to positive youth development through tennis and education, delivers outstanding service to under-resourced children with free or low-cost tennis, and provides education and life-skills programming. The NJTL network serves as the flagship program supported by the USTA Foundation.