Phil Gordon, who impacted thousands of Hartford area children’s lives over five decades of teaching them how to play tennis in the city, died March 27.
He was 82 years old.
Gordon, who was born in St. Thomas, Virgin Islands, was exposed to the sport as a youngster as a ball boy at hotels in St. Thomas before he moving to Hartford as an adult, according to this 2024 story about Gordon.
In 1974, Gordon founded Tennis Unlimited, which was initially a non-profit but eventually partnered with the Hartford Park and Recreation Department to offer free tennis lessons to Hartford youth at Keney Park and Elizabeth Park, and in the Armory in the winter.
He coached multiple generations. Ruth Krems remembered bringing her kids to tennis lessons at Keney Park in the early 1980s and her grandchildren were also coached by Gordon.
“He was a very strong figure,” Freeman said. “You didn’t fool around with Phil if you were there to be on the court and play tennis. You better be focusing and doing the right thing. He was a wonderful role model for the children.”
But tennis wasn’t just a sport to Gordon, it was a way for the kids to get into better schools and go to college and to help them succeed in life.
“He was a difficult coach because he wanted you to push yourself and get the most out of the sport,” said Ruth’s son, Seth, who started tennis lessons with Gordon over 40 years ago, when he was 7.
“He preached tennis as being a vehicle to help you get into a better college. A vehicle to challenge yourself; to overcome obstacles. He kept track of all of his students; where they went to college. He was proud of all his students that went to college and played tennis in college.”
One particular family he was particularly close to was the Lord family of Bloomfield – siblings Dayna, Matthew and Melissa – who started lessons with Gordon when they were young. Before their mother Iona died of breast cancer in 2010 at age 43, Gordon told Iona and her husband Almon that he would help look out for their kids.
“He made a promise to her to look out for us and to see us through and he stuck to his promise and I will forever be grateful and blessed to have him by our side,” said Dayna, the oldest, who is a senior staff product marketing manager at Cisco and lives in Washington, D.C.
“He was like a grandfather to us. I would tell people, this is not just my tennis coach, this is family. We spent time together, we ate food together, we spent holidays together, we spent hours on that court, laughing, sweating, crying.”
All three Lord children played at Kingswood-Oxford, where Melissa never lost a match and Matthew finished 109-3. Dayna, who had lost only one match at Kingswood, went to Brown and ended her collegiate career as the program’s all-time leader in combined wins for singles and doubles (182) and had the most doubles wins (90). Melissa went to Stanford, where she helped the Cardinal win three national team titles. And Matthew went to the University of Virginia, where he helped the team win an ACC championship.
“Without his guidance, I would not have been able to get to Brown,” Dayna said. “As the older sibling to my two siblings, he gave me sort of a framework to use to stay focused and to execute. I really started to understand what excellence was because I was taught it on the court at 5 – what it means to show up, work hard, have respect for those around you, enjoy the grind.
“That translated into the corporate world I’m in.”
Gordon’s daughter Alexis was a top player and went to the University of Florida, where she was a three-time All-American. She went on to have an eight-year professional career after she graduated.
Today Alexis and her husband Michael King, who was a track star at the University of Florida, have two daughters who are both high-level tennis players and they are both coaching and teaching tennis in Gainesville, Fla.
“We are a tennis family and it’s because of Phil Gordon,” King said. “I changed my lifestyle to suit my wife’s talents and skill sets. It’s almost like he still lives in us.”
A service for Phil Gordon will take place April 24 at 10 a.m. at the Hopewell Baptist Church, 280 Windsor Ave., Windsor.
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