With an outstanding track record in leading, innovating and collaborating Katrina Adams is a woman of many firsts. The first African American to lead the United States Tennis Association (USTA), the first two term Chairman and President of said organization and the first former player to hold that honor.

As the youngest person to hold the responsibility of $300 million+ revenue while representing excellence in sport, Adams has showcased her ability to impact, influence and make sound business decisions while navigating a plethora of moving parts and 700,000+ members.

Under her tutelage the USTA achieved a number of major milestones, including the opening of the 100 court USTA National Campus in Orlando, the strategic transformation of the $600 million USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in Flushing Meadows, N.Y. and an unprecedented outreach effort into underserved communities in an effort to share the sport of tennis with more people.

Having attended Northwestern University and led her team to a Big Ten Championship in 1986 and partnered with Diane Donnelly to win the 1987 NCAA Doubles Championship, Adams learned early on, the importance of teamwork. A familiar face in sports commentary, as a professional player Adams competed for 12 years on the WTA Tour, winning 20 career doubles titles and reaching the quarterfinals or better in doubles at all four Grand Slam events. By operating at the highest level in sport and business she has been able to lead successive boards in setting clearly defined strategies to further the organizations’ missions and ensure that management are afforded the tools needed to execute and excel.

Adams sheer determination and hard work in Tennis, leadership and philanthropy has earned her many accolades including: being named on Adweek magazine’s “Most Powerful Women in Sports” list twice (2016 and 2017), Forbes magazine’s “Most Powerful Women in Sports” list in 2017 and Ebony magazine’s “Power 100” list.

As vice president of the prestigious International Tennis Federation, Chairman of the Billie Jean King Cup Committee, Chairman of the Gender Equality in Tennis Committee and the Executive Director of the Harlem Junior Tennis and Education Program, Adams believes this is just the beginning. She has branched into the private sector as Board Members of Pivotal Acquisition Corp III and GSE Worldwide. She also serves on multiple Advisory Boards; Athletes Unlimited, Highlight Pro Skydiving, Full Court Tennis and Racquet Magazine. Adams served an unprecedented two consecutive terms as USTA Chairman and President, and served the board 2005-2020.

Named one of the “100 Most Important Americans of the 20th Century” by Life magazine and a 2009 recipient of the Presidential Medal of Freedom, Billie Jean King is the founder of the Billie Jean King Leadership Initiative, founder of the Women’s Tennis Association and the Women’s Sports Foundation and part of the ownership group of the Los Angeles Dodgers, Angel City FC and the Philadelphia Freedoms. In her legendary tennis career, King captured 39 Grand Slam singles, doubles and mixed doubles titles, including a record 20 Wimbledon championships. Her historic win over Bobby Riggs in the 1973 Battle of the Sexes, is one of the greatest moments in sports history. In September 2020, King became the first woman to have an annual global team sports event named in her honor when Fed Cup, the women’s world cup of tennis, was rebranded as the Billie Jean King Cup. The National Tennis Center, home of the US Open, was renamed the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in 2006 in honor of her accomplishments on and off the court. In 2017, Fox Searchlight released the critically acclaimed film, Battle of the Sexes, which depicts the cultural and social impact of the groundbreaking match. In 2018 King received a Lifetime Achievement Award as part of the prestigious BBC Sports Personality of the Year Awards, in 2019 King’s deep Southern California roots were recognized with the opening of the Billie Jean King Main Library in her hometown of Long Beach, California, in 2020 King was honored with the release of the Billie Jean King Barbie doll, part of Mattel’s Inspiring Women Series and in 2021 she received the Laureus Lifetime Achievement Award and the Sports Illustrated Muhammad Ali Legacy Award. King serves on the board of the Women’s Sports Foundation, is an adidas Global Ambassador and is a past member of the board of the Elton John AIDS Foundation and a past member of the President’s Council on Fitness, Sports and Nutrition. Her memoir, ALL IN: An Autobiography, was published by Knopf in August 2021.