Louisville tennis family helps to lead restorations to Tyler Park sports courts

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- A locally renowned tennis family helped to lead restoration efforts for athletic courts at Tyler Park.

On Saturday, the Olmsted Parks Conservancy and Louisville Parks and Recreation held a ribbon cutting to celebrate sports courts restoration at the park. Once the restoration is complete, parkgoers will have two tennis courts, two pickleball courts and a half-court basketball court to use.

The project received funding from a donation by the Cooper family, along with fundraising by the Tyler Park Neighborhood Association.

The Cooper family, with three members inducted into the Kentucky Tennis Hall of Fame, began to gather pledges to renovate tennis courts at the Louisville Metro Park last year. The 13-acre park off Baxter Avenue in the Tyler Park neighborhood had two new tennis courts completed in 2019, but the park’s four original courts from more than 100 years ago remained in disrepair with large cracks and graffiti.

Cooper family boys and father.jpg — William Cooper Sr. his six sons. *(Photo courtesy of the Cooper family)*

William Cooper Sr. and his wife Massie raised six boys, who grew up playing tennis on the courts at Tyler Park in the 1940s, 50s and 60s. Some of the 19 grandchildren of William, known as Bill, and Massie pushed for the completion of the $1.1 million project that included the tennis courts.

For a family with a rich tennis history, Saturday represented a chance to give back to the community it grew up in.

"It meant a lot, that's the best thing that's ever happened to us, tennis-wise," said Chucky Cooper, who was inducted into the Kentucky Tennis Hall of Fame in 2017. He is one of the six Cooper sons raised near Tyler Park.

The courts will be renamed in honor of the Cooper family.

"This is really a testament to them because they gave a lot to the tennis community," said Anne Cooper, a grandchild of Bill and Massie. "It's been a great day for our family, it's nice to know those courts will go on and hopefully mean a lot in the lives of other kids and families."

Sports courts restoration at Tyler Park.
Sam Draut

Layla George, President and CEO of Olmsted Parks Conservancy, said in a news release the Judge Family Foundation's gift took the project to the "finish line."

Anne Cooper credited her cousin Drew, who coaches college basketball for Kentucky Wesleyan, as the family member who brought it all together.

"There were so many contributors," Anne Cooper said. "It's been really exciting to see, and see it all come to fruition."

According to a news release, major donors to the Olmsted Parks Conservancy, Mayor Greg Fischer and the City of Louisville helped to make the project possible. The sports courts investment costs around $209,000.

Along with the sports court restoration, there has already been an installation of an accessible ramp connecting the east and west side of the park, a new playground, splash pad and a nature play area.

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