Eve F. Kraft

Eve Kraft (b.1926), a lifelong champion of recreational tennis, introduced thousands of young people to the rewards and challenges of the game. Kraft developed her own love of tennis as a 'street kid' in Philadelphia and, after graduating from Antioch College and working as a journalist, she began a model community tennis program for families in Princeton, N.J.

In the years following Kraft took her cause to the national level, writing the highly successful Tennis Workbook instructional series, founding and directing the USTA's Center for Education and Recreational Tennis, and consulting with such sports organizations as the President's Council on Physical Fitness and Sports. Among many honors, this 'grande dame of grassroots tennis' received the USTA/Middle States Tennis Association's highest honor, the Mangan Award, in 1990.

Founder and director, Princeton Community Tennis Program 1955-1981

USTA/MSTA Family of the Year Award 1966

Chair, USTA/American Association for Health, Physical Education and Recreation Joint Committee on Tennis 1970-1971

Co-founder anad director, USTA Tennis Teachers' Conference 1971-1989

Founder and director, USTA Center for Education and Recreational Tennis 1972-1989

First women's varsity tennis coach Princeton University 1971-1974

USTA Educational Merit Award 1972 (first woman recipient)

Consultant to the President's Council on Physical Fitness and Sports 1972-1988

National Parks and Recreation Award for Volunteer Service 1975

Delegate, White House Conference on Aging 1981

Author of the The Tennis Workbook series, The Tennis Teacher's Guide to Group Instruction and numerous other publications

Named by Tennis magazine in 1985 as one of the 20 most influential people in tennis

Development advisor, International Tennis Federation 1987-1994

USTA/MSTA Mangan Award 1990

Inaugural member of the USTA/MSTA Hall of Fame 1994

USPTA Presidential Lifetime Achievement Award 1996