Public Tennis Inc. (PTi) is a group of volunteers and teaching pros who use our passion for our favorite sport to help kids and adults learn and get in the game.  We see tennis as a community sport, learned and played at public facilities.   Like the founders of our 501(c)(3) nonprofit over 20 years ago, we’re committed to affordable, accessible tennis for all.  This means outreach programs, serving those who might not otherwise have access to tennis, and adaptive tennis for special athletes.   It also means working closely with local government and advocating for building more public courts!   Public Tennis programs include youth, adult and family clinics, Special Olympics and adaptive programs, summer camps, and Phys Ed classes at elementary schools.  To deliver programs, we partner with Hilton Head Island Recreation, Beaufort County Parks & Recreation, SOAR Special Recreation, Special Olympics, and the school districts of Beaufort County and Jasper County.  We work at 2 public parks and with 10 public schools, introducing tennis to hundreds of school children, working with approximately 140 youth and adult special athletes, and conducting ongoing clinics with approximately 200 youth participants yearly.  We are funded by local events, local sponsors, grants, and generous donations.

We are Public Tennis …

  • Participation: Public options for playing tennis affordably and by people of all ages, all abilities, and diverse backgrounds
  • Community: Community-building activities including team and individual play, teaching, and volunteering
  • Lifelong Recreation: Health and wellness benefits for life
  • Personal Growth: Opportunities for excellence, advancement, learning life skills, learning academic skills, and building character
  • Sustainability: Nurturing a healthy regional tennis “ecosystem” comprised of public and private facilities and program resources, and local and national partners
  • Competition: Skills, strategy, fun … play the game!

PTI is Public Tennis Inc.!

Public Tennis Inc. (PTI) is a 501(c)(3) non-profit, charitable organization.  We are committed to making tennis affordable and accessible, to growing tennis as a sport, and to bringing the therapeutic, athletic, and social benefits of tennis to those with special needs.   To these ends, we introduce tennis to youngsters and we build programs for players of all means and abilities.  As a CTA (Community Tennis Association), we are affiliated with the USTA.   The USTA affiliation is beneficial in terms of access to insurance, grants, best business practices, and access to resources to help us grow the sport regionally.  As an NJTL (National Junior Tennis and Learning) we seek coaching opportunities which teach, illuminate and demonstrate life skills and education as integral and essential to the process of learning and playing tennis.

PTI is Tennis Courts

PTI advocates, plans, and raises funds for construction and improvement of public tennis facilities.  From its beginning, PTI recognized that despite hundreds of private and gated tennis courts and facilities in the greater Hilton Head area, very few courts were available for public use.  In the early 2000’s, PTI raised funds and secured matching funds enabling the Town of Hilton Head to build Chaplin Public Tennis Center.  Over the years, PTI public facilities advocacy and assistance efforts have included the Cordillo (Hilton Head) courts rebuilding project, the downtown Beaufort courts rebuilding project, and various renovation projects. Current advocacy is focused on building new full-service public tennis centers in Bluffton and Hilton Head, as well as the renovation and expansion of school courts in Hardeeville.

Our county contains three municipalities with a wide range of economic and cultural diversity.  A primary objective of PTI is to establish facilities and programs which serve those who otherwise would not find their way to a tennis court. 

PTI is Tennis Programs

Tennis is a lifetime sport!

  • PTI provides youth and adult programs through Island Rec (HHI) and Parks & Rec (Bluffton, Beaufort).
  • PTI coordinates Adult Team Tennis, a yearly Fall informal competition with 13 teams and over 350 players.
  • PTI brings tennis to approximately 140 special needs athletes at 8 Beaufort County schools and 2 adult groups.
  • PTI contributes tennis gear and training to elementary schools and after-school programs.  Over the years, we have introduced nearly 2000 public elementary school children to tennis by making tennis part of the PE curriculum. 

PTI is Volunteerism

While our on-court leaders and mentors are often certified for teaching, we believe the life blood of public program success is volunteerism.  We are building a network of trained coaches who are volunteers.  Volunteer team coaching effort is a key to the success of special needs and Special Olympics tennis, where athletes have diverse skills and on-court training activities which challenge players optimally are coach-intensive.

PTI is Partnership

Over the years, we have partnered with numerous organizations including Beaufort County Parks & Rec, Beaufort County Schools, The Tennis Association of Hilton Head (TAHHI), The Island Recreation Center, The US Professional Tennis Registry, SOAR (Special Olympics), Bluffton Today, Spring Break Tennis, Boys and Girls Clubs, and the YMCA.