ITF Press Release, May 30, 2022
The International Tennis Federation (ITF) has today announced that Stan Smith of the United States will be presented with the ITF’s highest honour, the Philippe Chatrier Award.
The Philippe Chatrier Award, named after the former ITF President, was introduced in 1996 and is awarded to individuals or organisations that have made significant contributions to the sport of tennis both on and off the court.
Smith, inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame in 1987, won seven Grand Slam titles: two in singles – at the 1971 US Open and 1972 Wimbledon – and five in doubles.. He was an outstanding Davis Cup player, as a member of seven US Davis Cup winning teams from 1968-1972, and 1978-79.
Having established his famous shoe brand in the 1970s, Smith moved into coaching roles with the USTA and played an important part in the careers of numerous players including stars Lindsay Davenport, Jennifer Capriati and Michael Chang. He also served as President of the International Tennis Hall of Fame from 2011-2021.
David Haggerty, ITF President said: “The ITF Board of Directors is delighted to award the ITF’s highest accolade to Stan Smith. He has made an enormous contribution to tennis on and off the court for more than half a century and it is an honour to recognise his achievements this evening.”
Stan Smith said, “It is a special award – I know all the people on the list prior to me and it’s a great list of people who have done great jobs on the court but also off the court. It is also very special because I knew Philippe Chatrier well, and he has done so much for the game.
“I have been very fortunate, I have had a lot of people that helped me along the way. I competed really hard and came through in some big moments, didn’t come through in some big moments. That is what is terrific about the game of tennis and all sport really.. You are not going to win every match or every game or contest that you’re involved in, but you have got to give it 100 per cent and look back with no regrets.”
The award will be officially presented this evening at the ITF World Champions Awards in Paris. The Awards will also celebrate the 2021 ITF World Champions – recipients are singles champions Novak Djokovic (SRB) and Ashleigh Barty (AUS); doubles champions Barbora Krejcikova and Katerina Siniakova (CZE), and Nikola Mektic and Mate Pavic (CRO); wheelchair champions Dylan Alcott (AUS), Diede de Groot (NED) and Shingo Kunieda (JPN) and junior champions Juncheng Shang (CHN) and Petra Marcinko (CRO).
