50th anniversary marks a hopeful return for Macon’s first Black tennis club

The first-ever Black tennis club in Macon celebrated its 50th reunion on what is now recognized as “Cross-Court Racquet Club Day” in Macon, and also announced plans to reestablish the club.

In recognition of Cross-Court Racquet Club’s dedication and devotion to the youth of the community in promoting tennis recreational endeavors, Mayor Lester Miller officially declared July 26, 2025, as “Cross-Court Racquet Club Day.”

The Cross-Court Racquet Club, established in 1975, was chartered as a non-profit corporation in 1976. The group’s goal, according to original charter member Al Bailey, was to spread the sport throughout the community.

“Our principal and predominant objective (was) to introduce tennis to the African-American community,” Bailey said.

The club stopped operations in the early 2000s when members got busy with careers, families and other responsibilities. With reactivation of the club, the group looks to expand its goals. With sights set on becoming a 501 (c)(3) nonprofit organization, the Cross-Court Racquet Club wants to spread tennis to several communities, starting with the Pleasant Hill neighborhood and the Mattie Hubbard Jones courts where the group began.

“Who knows, with the next group over there in Pleasant Hill we might have the Macon Venus or Serena Williams,” Bailey said.

The 50th reunion of the Cross-Court Racquet Club represented not only a chance to see old friends and share memories, but also a call to action to be part of the future of the club. The group wants to provide equipment, professional coaching, and more services to youth in the Pleasant Hill neighborhood.

Julia Daniely, a retired educator who grew up in the club, foresees training, fitness, nutrition, after school programs, SAT prep and other academic tutoring, summer camps, and field trips to professional matches as part of the next steps for the club.

“When you have children that are involved in those types of coaching and activities, you get them in tournaments, you get them focused, you get them motivated, then they don’t have a lot of idle time,” Daniely said. “Revitalizing this will help refocus children, open up opportunities for children.”

Original charter member shares his story

When Bailey was growing up in Macon, there weren’t any Black tennis players in Macon. People played basketball, baseball and football instead, Bailey explained. In his neighborhood, neighbors couldn’t afford a football, so the group used a sweet potato. It wasn’t until college, Bailey said, when an economics professor introduced him to the sport, that Bailey had ever seen a tennis racquet.

When Bailey returned to Macon after college in June 1973, he found that some were playing at the Mattie Hubbard-Jones courts tucked into the Pleasant Hill neighborhood, and went to join what would later become the Cross-Court Racquet Club.

Aside from spreading the love of the game across marginalized communities in Macon, such as the Pleasant Hill neighborhood, the club traveled to play other clubs and host games and clinics themselves. The club was a place where people could come to relieve the stress of everyday life and enjoy the camaraderie of being part of a team.

Tennis pays no mind to any cultural, racial, or gender barriers, Daniely said.

“Nobody’s caring about where you come from, who you are, as long as you can hit that forehand and backhand. It’s a universal type sport,” Daniely said.

Remembering the milestones

Daniely was raised in the club because her sister, Cookie Bailey, would always take her to the courts. Cookie Bailey is married to Al Bailey. She has been taught tennis by Macon greats, including John Drew, the namesake of the John Drew Smith Tennis Center. Daniely says her sister has always been the tennis player in the family.

Cookie Bailey, a predominant member of the club, was captain of the first team to go to USTA Nationals in Macon in the early 1990s. They went to nationals not once, but twice, Cookie Bailey said.

Beatrice Ross, another member of Cookie Bailey’s nationals team, was not originally part of the Cross-Court Racquet Club, but competed against them in a rival club.

Ross was born and raised in Atlanta, where she attended college at Clark Atlanta University. During her sophomore year, the men’s tennis coach at her college approached her asking her to join the team. Her tennis skills were reputable throughout the school, and she had known the players on the men’s team already from playing with them before.

On the condition that she received a scholarship like the others on the team, she agreed to join.

She recalled her first match for the team, playing doubles against Morehouse College’s Alveno Ross, who would later become her husband. While Alveno Ross had regarded her as just another tennis player, his partner had broken down in rage and threw his racquet after losing to her, Ross explained.

“Don’t look at me as a woman. Look at me as a tennis player who happens to be a woman,” Ross said after meeting Alveno Ross’ partner at the net to shake hands.

The Cross-Court Racquet Club hopes to resume operations at the Mattie Hubbard Jones courts in Pleasant Hill in the spring, Al Bailey said.

This story was originally published July 29, 2025 at 6:00 AM.