From Center Court to Service: The Zina Garrison Legacy
An essential read for tennis coaches, facility owners and program directors on transitioning from world-class competitor to impactful mentor.
For those who dedicate their lives to teaching tennis, the ultimate challenge is not mastering the perfect groundstroke, but the fundamental shift in perspective required to transition from player to teacher. Few exemplify this journey with the grace of Zina Garrison, who translated her competitive drive into a legacy of community service.
The Roots of Service: A Promise Made in MacGregor Park
Garrison’s philosophy of service is not a post-career afterthought. It’s the blueprint of her life, established at a free program led by her former coach John Wilkerson in Houston’s MacGregor Park. This experience set a non-negotiable standard: you must give back.
“I’m very fortunate because I grew up playing tennis in the public park,” Garrison shares. “John Wilkerson taught me how to play tennis at McGregor Park in Houston, Texas, for free. He believed that once we learned the basics, we had a responsibility to teach others, and that was the way we would give back to him. I’ve lived by that principle ever since. My love has always been to help people.”
Today, Garrison’s life has come full circle, as she now runs a public park tennis program herself, continuing the cycle of instruction and service in the community that raised her.
The Mindset Shift: From Me to We
The transition from professional player to coach is notoriously difficult because it requires the star to set aside years of self-focus and embrace selfless dedication to others.
“When you’re a professional player,” Garrison explains, “it’s all about you. You, you, you. The whole team, everything is focused on you. When that’s done and you’re becoming a coach, it’s time to think about others. For me, it was easy because I truly care about understanding the person and helping them become the best player and the best person they can possibly be. John Wilkerson instilled that in me at an early age.”
Garrison also credits the legendary Billie Jean King with solidifying this view: “She taught me that everyone on our staff, from the stringer to the physical therapist to everybody, has something to give to help you be the best you can be. So you need to talk to and listen to everybody.”
Measuring Impact: Character Over Championships
Garrison’s commitment to holistic development shines in her current passion project: the Tennis & Gardening Seed Exchange for 5- to 10-year-olds. “People come out and hit, and bring some seeds to exchange,” says Garrison. “I’ve had about five kids so far and the garden is growing. They’re learning tennis and then they’re gardening, having a good time.” This creative, hands-on approach reflects Garrison's core belief that tennis is a vehicle for character development.
For facility owners and coaches looking to assess their community values beyond the scoreboard, Garrison offers a powerful personal metric:
“The most rewarding thing for me is when I can see that I helped instill the right values in a player – respect and giving back to others, passing down the knowledge,” she says. “To be the best coach you can possibly be, you have to be pretty selfless. You can encounter a lot of struggles in the profession. But if four out of 10 of your players gain important values through your coaching, you’ve really done something.”
She argues that true dedication to coaching is driven by altruism: “The best coaches would be coaches even if they weren’t making any money,” she says. “They want to give back. I wouldn’t be where I am if John Wilkerson hadn’t been out there giving kids the opportunity to play tennis for free. That was his whole life.”
“ To be the best coach you can possibly be, you have to be pretty selfless… if four out of 10 of your players gain important values through your coaching, you’ve really done something. ”
Zina Garrison
Passing the Torch: Changing How the World Sees the Game
Zina looks back fondly on her best moment as a player – winning a gold medal in doubles with Pam Shriver at the 1988 Seoul Olympic Games, making her the first Black tennis player to do so. “It wasn’t just the tennis world – it was the whole world watching, and I’ll always cherish that,” she recalls. “I felt like I was part of a major sorority or fraternity and that can never be taken away from me.”
As an assistant coach at the 2000 Sydney Olympics, she was instrumental as Venus and Serena Williams claimed the gold medal in doubles there. “I’ve known them since they were seven and eight,” she says. “I remember going down and saying, ‘Make sure you don’t drop the flag. Keep it up!’ I told them, ‘You’re going to change the way people see tennis.’”
Today, Garrison’s favorite player to watch is Coco Gauff. And as with her coaching philosophy, it’s about more than the serve. “It’s not because of her tennis,” Garrison explains. “It’s because of her as a person. She’s got enough oomph on the court to be selfish – but she has way more oomph to be selfless in the world, like Billie Jean King or Arthur Ashe. You can’t be an all-around court player until you understand your gifts. I think her gift is to show that she’s more than just tennis. Tennis is just one part of it.”
Garrison comments on the unique challenges of being a Black woman athlete, “When you walk out there, people see you as Black first because you’re a Black woman. Then you have these barriers that you’re consistently breaking – whether it’s ‘you look too strong,’ ‘you look this way,’ ‘you pray too much,’ all those things that Black athletes constantly get.
A Call to Action: Respect for Women Coaches
Garrison issues a passionate call to action in regard to the powerful potential of women coaches, stressing that for the coaching landscape to change, it must be addressed from the ground up.
“We need to teach boys to respect women coaches,” she says. “I had a player who asked me to work with her son, and I kept telling her he’s not going to do it because his friends are going to give him a hard time about taking lessons from a lady. During our first lesson, he started giving me a little attitude. I asked him what was wrong, and he said he wasn’t sure if I knew what I was talking about. Even though I was No. 4 in the world, he didn’t respect me as a tennis coach because I’m a woman. For this to change, it will take a top male player to put a woman on his management team in his box. They’ll take her advice, but will they give her that visibility?”
Advice for Parent Coaches
Garrison encourages coaches to embrace new tools that make the initial learning curve easier and more fun. She’s partnering with Fast Track Tennis, an innovative training and ball-feeding system designed to make it easier to learn tennis, especially for youth in underserved communities.
“As a parent coach, you might sometimes hit a wall when the kids aren’t listening to you anymore, and you have to back off a little,” she says. “Also, young players need to respect and honor the time and effort their parents have given to bring them into the game. I absolutely love Bryan Shelton and how he’s coaching his son, [ATP Tour standout] Ben. Some people say maybe he should move on to another coach. I think Bryan is selfless enough to know if he needs to step back or add someone to the team.”
The Legacy: Start in Your Community
Ultimately, Garrison is motivated by her deep-seated concern over the state of the world. She believes people with platforms, especially successful athletes, can make a big difference.
“I’d love it if I had the power to get every athlete, entertainer and artist to go back to their community and start there,” Garrison says. “I believe and I’ve experienced that anything we give returns to us in the measure we give it and beyond. Put back into your community what your community put into you. Everybody can do something. Start where you can. Give some extra food to your neighborhood food bank.”
When the final chapter is written on Zina Garrison, she wants her legacy to be a simple but powerful truth: "One thing about Zina, she’s always going to give you the truth,” she says of herself. “And you know I want you to be the best that you can possibly be.”
Her journey is a powerful reminder that the most successful coaching careers are built not just on talent, but on a foundation of generosity and service.
