Hubert Eaton's tennis court reopened for youth

The Wilmington tennis court where Wimbledon champion Althea Gibson honed her skills got a new lease on life Tuesday.

One Love Tennis, the enrichment program for at-risk youth in Wilmington, held a formal ribbon-cutting Tuesday morning for the historic tennis court at the Hubert A. Eaton house at 1406 Orange Street.

Eaton (1916-1991), a longtime Wilmington physician and civil rights leader, was a leading amateur player in the American Tennis Association, an historically black tennis organization during the segregation era. He won the ATA's junior championship in 1933 and shared its doubles title four times in the 1950s.

Eaton also served as guardian and mentor to Gibson while she attended Williston High School. The two regularly practiced on the court behind the doctor's house.

Another regular player was Wilmington native Lendward "Lenny" Simpson, an ATA and collegiate champion who was inducted into the N.C. Tennis Hall of Fame in 2011. Simpson began playing on Eaton's court when he was 5, in 1953.

For years, the court was a local legend. "We used to peep through a hole in the fence over there," said Hollis Briggs, president of the Bottom Neighborhood Empowerment Group, who grew up nearby.

"We definitely need to have a state (historical) marker near here," Mayor Bill Saffo said during Tuesday's ceremonies.

"Dr. Eaton was a change agent in this community," said Wilmington Police Chief Ralph Evangelous.

Simpson, who returned to Wilmington in 2012, organized One Love, which teaches tennis to at-risk youngsters, along with self-esteem, character and basic life skills. In 2018, its parent body, the Lenny Simpson Tennis and Education Fund, bought the Eaton house as a base and is in the process of renovating it as a teaching facility.

Simpson said he hopes the house and the tennis court will serve as a "safe haven" for youngsters. He plans to expand the One Love program to 12-to-18 year-olds.

Before the official ribbon-cutting, officials of the U.S. Tennis Association, USTA-Southern and NC Tennis presented Simpson with checks totaling $46,000 to further the program.

Much work remains to be done on the Eaton House's interior, Simpson said. He and several speakers encouraged donations to LSTEP.

Wilmington City Council member Clifford D. Barnett, who offered the invocation Tuesday with the Rev. Mike Ashcroft of Port City Community Church, said he hoped the facility will help revitalize the surrounding community.

More than 100 people — including a number of One Love participants in yellow T-shirts — attended the ribbon cutting and watched Simpson try out the court with his former mixed-doubles partner Bonnie Logan.

Reporter Ben Steelman can be reached at 910-343-2208 or Ben.Steelman@StarNewsOnline.com.