Unfinished Business
It isn't Wimbledon – It's Iowa!
Controversial Supreme Court rulings, a special session of the Iowa legislature to restrict abortion, and a deadly open season on Americans celebrating the 4th of July. Isn't it time to escape from the hateful rhetoric and violent mayhem? Perhaps a visit to a far-away place . . . 4,000 miles away?
How about a trip to the 2023 Wimbledon Championships at the All-England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club in Wimbledon, London, United Kingdom?
The big news this year is that for the first time in the 146 years of women's competition, the strict all-white dress code (including underwear) was lifted! Women now are allowed to wear dark-colored undershorts to ease their anxiety during their menstrual cycles.
Three climate activists also were arrested on the No. 18 Court after they threw orange confetti and puzzle pieces on the grass. Oh, those rowdy British!
Venus Williams, a five-time singles title winner, entered as a wild card. But the 43-year-old was defeated on Day 1 by Ukrainian Elina Svitolina in two sets, after Venus fell and re-injured her right knee. After a contentious call by the chair umpire, she did not shake hands with the umpire after her loss. Sister Serena isn't competing because the 41-year-old is pregnant, and chose not to travel.
In men's singles, Novak Djokovic is a seven-time defending champion, and he's aiming to tie Roger Federer's record of eight singles titles.
Persistent rain delays during the opening days postponed and suspended matches at the grass-court Grand Slam tournament. But the weather forecast is more favorable for this weekend.
The Iowa Connection
If you enjoy tennis, but doubt you'll ever get to Wimbledon, The All-Iowa Lawn Tennis Club (AILTC) near Charles City, Iowa is your ticket. Open from Memorial Day through September, it’s not a club, and the dress code is less restrictive.
I ventured there eight years ago to talk to farmer Mark Kuhn, who fell under the spell of Wimbledon when he was a young boy listening to the BBC with his grandfather on a short-wave radio. His mom saved S & H Green Stamps to buy his tennis racket, and drove him to lessons. He played tennis in high school and college.
After college, Mark married, and returned home to farm and raise a family. He served a 12-year stint in the Iowa legislature. But he still harbored his boyhood dream of creating a Wimbledon-worthy tennis court on his farm. When a close farm friend suddenly died, Mark knew that he needed to sally forth (as the Brits say) to make his dream a reality.
As a 12-year-old chore boy, he had envisioned converting the cattle feedlot into a grass tennis court like Wimbledon's Centre Court. In 2002, it still was the best option. He contacted an Iowa State University turf grass specialist, who wasn't encouraging. But Mark persevered. He hauled 17 truckloads of sandy soil and installed an irrigation system with 17 sprinkler heads and six tile lines.
After his two sons picked up bucket after bucket of rocks, Mark put down L92 bent grass sod. Mark, Mason, and Alex cut 628 pickets with a jigsaw for a cedar fence painted white on one side, and green on the other. Friends and neighbors helped them prime and paint it.
Mark painted the lines each week with an aerosol latex machine, and used an asphalt roller to minimize the potential of bad hops. The court required at least an hour of daily maintenance.
The 9,000-square foot court, including a green umpire's chair, was completed in 2003, and a grand opening exhibition match featured Coe College. A screened-in porch of the house serves as the Queen’s Box.
The AILTC began hosting a free, one-day annual camp for high school girls, and the Charles City UMCA youth league was invited to play there.
Sports Illustrated writer, L. Jon Wertheim, wrote a column in the Wimbledon Tennis Magazine in 2006 about this unique gravel-road venue. As a result, Tennis Magazine named the AILTC as one of 64 hot spots on the 2006 Great American Tennis Road Trip. Between July and September that year, 252 visitors from 25 states were attracted there.
A 2010 Tennis Channel video featuring the AILTC culminated in a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for Mark to intern in 2012 as a Wimbledon groundsman for eight days, and to blog for the United States Tennis Association. Alex maintained the court while he was gone.
He and Alex attended Wimbledon in 2015, and Mark returned there in 2016 as an honorary court attendant with his wife Denise.
"Wimbledon is a special place," Mark always said. "Good things always happen to me there."
From the Peak to the Valley
But tragedy devastated the Kuhn family within a week of their return. After leaving a celebratory barbecue dinner at the farm, their 34-year-old son, Alex, died by suicide.
For the next two months of the season, the All Iowa was closed, and 75 reservations were cancelled.
Mark, Denise, Mason, and Alex's widow and sons Rylan and Collan were plunged into the dark depths of despair and grief. Mason City lost a prominent city council member, and Iowa lost a rising community leader. Mark tore out the entire bent grass court.
New Life After the Ashes
But in 2017, the All-Iowa Lawn Tennis Club re-opened with a perennial ryegrass court -- the official species grown on Wimbledon's Centre Court, and at the top of a list of improvements that Alex had envisioned. In June, the annual Alex J. Kuhn Court of Dreams Invitational was launched to raise funds for the All-Iowa Lawn Tennis Club Foundation, a nonprofit supporting a sustainable future for the AILTC, and to promote Alex's support of elementary reading programs.
Make no mistake about it – grass tennis courts are rare. The AILTC was featured in the October 2021 Sports Illustrated Hidden Gems story.
Quad Cities native Madison Keys, a 2017 U.S. Open finalist, heard about The All-Iowa. One week after the 2022 Wimbledon Championships, the AILTC hosted Madison Keys in an exhibition tournament benefitting her Kindness Wins Foundation.
Sharing the Wonder of Wimbledon
Mark, a third-generation farmer, retired in 2019, and rented out his crop ground. The 72-year-old still plays tennis on the All Iowa, mostly with Alex's 17- year-old son, Rylan. This week, when I reached out to Mark, I found him in Wimbledon again, this time with Rylan. They’re play tennis and watching matches at the Gardens Lawn Tennis Club in nearby Southfields. The Gardens is the official Sister Club of the All Iowa.
"I wanted to share the magic of Wimbledon with Rylan," Mark told me. "Hopefully it'll inspire him to achieve excellence in whatever he chooses in life."
He and Rylan were gifted ground passes for three days, and provided the opportunity to purchase the coveted tickets for Centre. "We plan to join the queue at 5 a.m. for ground passes on People's Saturday," he said.
"The highlight of our tennis calendar is July 18," Mark told me. "Rylan will lead a strong field of Iowa boys’ and girls' high school players against equally strong Minnesota teams. There will be lots of pomp and flag raising, singing of the National Anthem, player introductions, and the winning team will take home the traveling team trophy."
The July 18 tournament also will feature the awarding of the Sterling Lord/Frank DeFord Sportsmanship plaque. "Sterling, an Iowa native, and I became friends after he read the first story about the All Iowa in The New York Times," Mark said. "Rylan won the award one year when he told the chair umpire that he ticked a ball on set point that the umpire had called long."
Leaving a Legacy
"We leave Wimbledon Sunday morning, and will be back mowing the All Iowa and weeding dandelions by hand by Sunday evening," Mark told me.
They'll be welcomed home by their Clumber Spaniel, Murray, named after Andy Murray, a 2016 Wimbledon finalist, and Oliver, Denise’s English Springer Spaniel puppy. They're the only dogs allowed at the AILTC.
Mark and Denise Kuhn invite you to attend the tournament on July 18. Or, make a reservation to play at alliowalawntenniscourt.org. You're sure to return home with a memorable image of the World Class event venue created when a venerable English tennis tradition meets up with the magical dreams of an Iowa farm boy.
The seeds of the All-Iowa Lawn Tennis Court were planted in 1962. And, despite the life-altering impact of personal loss, its roots run deep in Floyd County's black, Iowa soil today. It's a legacy of Iowa ingenuity and leadership. "I'm a farmer," Mark will tell you. "We grow things, and corn is just another type of grass. If you grow it, they will come."
If you are having thoughts of suicide, call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-8255 (TALK) or go to SpeakingOfSuicide.com/resources for a list of additional resources
I’m delighted to be part of the IOWA WRITERS’ COLLABORATIVE
Mark is one incredible guy. He helped me on my campaign for Secretary of Ag. He was always helpful at the capitol when groups of Iowa Farmer's Union folks went to lobby. He is an Iowa treasure
Thanks for sharing this story. I remember reading about the court years ago - I did not realize it is still there.