Our Mission
WTEF builds life champions through high-quality tennis instruction, robust academic enrichment, and ongoing life-skills development.
Our Vision
WTEF envisions a world where every child has access to the transformative power of tennis and education, unlocking lifelong health, opportunity, and success.
7 Milestones That Shaped 7 Decades
1955
WTEF was founded by Stanley M. Rumbough as the Washington Area Tennis Patrons, providing local youth with tennis training and tournament opportunities.
1969
The DC Open began as one of the first open professional tennis tournaments in the United States, originally called the Washington Star International. It was born through the work of our organization and founders Arthur Ashe, Donald Dell, and John A. Harris, charting a new course to elevate our mission and sustainability as the nonprofit beneficiary of a major tournament event.
Arthur Ashe plays a singles match in the first Washington Star International tournament.
1993
The Arthur Ashe Children’s Program (AACP) was born, sparking an enduring partnership with DC’s public schools to provide extracurricular tennis and enrichment support on local campuses.
Students from Miner Elementary School during a competition in AACP.
1997
Washington Tennis Patrons formally becomes the Washington Tennis & Education Foundation (WTEF), expanding our mission to tennis and education.
2012
WTEF opened our award-winning East Capital campus, bringing 6 indoor courts, 9 outdoor courts, classrooms, a computer lab, a community room, and more to Ward 7, fundamentally transforming access to high-quality tennis facilities and out-of-school time programming in the region.
2025
WTEF turns 70, welcomes a new CEO, grows our youth and adult programming community, and launches a strategic planning process for the future.
