Mount Holyoke Cites Cost of Court Repairs as Part of Reason for Cutting Tennis Program

Mount Holyoke College has officially cut the school's tennis program, leaving team members who had planned for the upcoming season in limbo. 

“I was pretty shocked. I really never expected it to happen,” Mount Holyoke College tennis player Annika Chai told Western Mass News. 

Upon returning to campus from summer break, Chai and her teammates will no longer have their coaches or team to return to. 

“I’m pretty upset. I’m pretty angry still. I think the biggest thing that comes to mind is probably frustration. I feel a lot for our coaches. I think, in all of this, the thing that makes me the most annoyed is our coaches and the way they haven’t tried to honor both of our coach’s legacies,” Chai added.

In a May 13 email sent to the school, which Chai sent to Western Mass News, Mount Holyoke College President Danielle Holley said, in part: “Mount Holyoke College will move squash to a club sport and will no longer sponsor a tennis program. Student players and coaching staff most directly impacted by these changes have been notified, and we will work with them to ensure a smooth transition.”

Despite a petition with nearly 3,300 signatures asking the school to keep the program in place, the school stayed the course and cancelled the program. 

“They brought up things about the court, basically saying the outdoor courts have needed to be refurbished for many years,” Chai said. “They first told us that the amount needed to keep running our program, because we requested for another two years to allow all current players to finish playing their collegiate careers, is $400,000 for one year.”

However, the school later came back and said it would probably cost around $3,000,000 if the refurbishment of the outdoor courts were included, then it went up to $15,000,000.