GOLD BALLS
The former UW-Madison tennis coach stars in the 2016 film "Gold Balls."
Late on the evening of Aug. 20, tennis legend John Powless was trapped inside the building that bears his name.
Water from the torrential rain Madison received that day streamed into the John Powless Tennis Center, a west-side institution for nearly 40 years, and caused several hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of damage. The flood inundated the eight indoor courts, while
August’s rains left the west side courts under water.
Powless — the No. 1 tennis player over age 85 in the world and former head coach of the University of Wisconsin men’s basketball team in the late 1960s and 1970s —and a handful of players and staff were still inside.
“I’m about 6-foot-5, and the water was halfway up to my knees,” Powless, 86, says from Porto Alegre, Brazil, where he was competing in a late November International Tennis Federation event. “The water had so much power. It just kept coming in, and we couldn’t stop it.”
The pressure of the water outside the facility was so great that Powless and others were unable to push open the doors to exit. They retreated to the building’s second level and prepared to hunker down for the night.
Finally, around 2 in the morning, the water pressure generated a tiny crack between one of the doors and the doorframe, which provided an opening they could leverage to ultimately escape.
Within 10 days, all indoor courts and the center’s six outdoor courts were playable again, according to Powless. Renovation continues in an area that includes locker rooms and reception spaces. The center — recognized by the United States Tennis Association as the No. 1 tennis club in both Wisconsin and the Midwest — has posted detailed information about the recovery and renovation efforts on its website (johnpowlesstenniscenter.com).
Damage was not covered by insurance, but Powless has received loans and generous
donations. “People in the tennis community around the world have sent money, unsolicited,” he says.
Additionally, JPTC member and retired attorney Susan McDonald started a GoFundMe page (gofundme.com/rally-for-powless), and a “Rally for Powless” fundraiser will be held Sunday,
Dec. 9, with a screening of the 2016 feature-length documentary Gold Balls at Madison East High School’s new auditorium. The film stars Powless (who will conduct a Q&A session) and four other over-80 tennis players barnstorming the United States in pursuit of a national title.
Tickets are available at the door or in advance at the John Powless Tennis Center, 801 Struck St. The suggested donation is $10 per person (or $5 for children 12 and under).
