OU’s Tennis Complex Receives USTA Outstanding Facility Award

NORMAN — The University of Oklahoma's Headington Family Tennis Center and Gregg Wadley Indoor Tennis Pavilion received a 2026 USTA Outstanding Facility Award, the United States Tennis Association announced. The awards were presented at a ceremony in New York during the U.S. Open.

OU's tennis facility is one of 12 educational institutions nationally to receive the prestigious award and is one of just six located on a university or college campus.

"We are incredibly proud to call the Headington Family Tennis Center our home," Oklahoma head women's tennis coach Audra Cohen said. "The facility provides an exceptional experience for our student-athletes and everyone who walks through our doors. We are so grateful to tennis club director Dawna Johnston for her heart, dedication and many years of service to OU Tennis, and to everyone who has helped make this one of the premier tennis facilities in the country."

"It's incredible to walk into our facility every day and see the very best in college tennis," OU head men's tennis coach Nick Crowell said. "The upgrades and renovations, made possible by the generosity of our donors and the unwavering support of our athletics department, have transformed the Headington Family Tennis Center into the finest collegiate tennis facility in the nation."

Facilities were judged on the following criteria: overall layout and adaptation to site; excellence of court surface and lights; ease of maintenance; accommodations for players, spectators and press/officials; aesthetics; graphics (including the use of signs and landscaping); amenities such as casual seating for spectators, food services and social areas; and the facilities' participation in grassroots tennis programs.

Nominated facilities were voted on in the following categories: "Public Courts" that are either small tennis centers with 2 to 11 courts or large tennis centers with 12 or more courts; "Private Facilities" that offer both USTA and public programming designed to help grow tennis (small: 2-11 courts; large: 12 or more courts); "Educational Institutions" such as colleges, universities, public and private grade schools, middle schools or high schools; and "Innovation," which recognizes facilities that have been particularly innovative when it comes to delivering tennis. All 2026 award winners will receive a wall plaque and an all-weather sign that can be mounted at the facility.

Home to the Oklahoma men's and women's tennis programs, the Headington Family Tennis Center and Gregg Wadley Indoor Tennis Pavilion features 12 outdoor courts, seating for fans, championship lighting and surface, a sound system, electronic scoreboards and benches on every court. The outdoor courts are split into four three-court quadrants for easy access and viewing.

Including the indoor facility, the complex houses 18 courts, locker rooms for home teams and visitors, storage for trainers and equipment staff and indoor amenities for fans.

The Headington Family Tennis Center has hosted numerous championship events, including NCAA First and Second Rounds 15 times (2003, 2004, 2010-14, 2016-18, 2022-26). The center is named for 1972 University of Oklahoma graduate and tennis letterwinner Timothy C. Headington.

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