By Scoop Malinowski
Basketball great Kyle Macy is best known for helping the University of Kentucky Wildcats win the NCAA National Championship in 1978. He also achieved an outstanding NBA career from 1980-1990 with the Phoenix Suns, Indiana Pacers and Chicago Bulls with teammate Michael Jordan. Macy averaged 9.5 points per game in his career.
The hardwood is not the only court where Macy excelled as an athlete though. As a tennis player Macy was talented enough to play a season at Purdue University where he attended college before later transferring to Kentucky in 1977. At Kentucky he could not play tennis, as the team was a hundred percent focused on winning the national title.
Macy is a teaching pro in Lexington, KY and also regularly competes in USTA national tournaments, he even won a back draw championship at a grass court competition in Southern California and also almost returned a serve from Andy Roddick.
I met Kyle at a Bradenton tournament last month where he played next to me in the semifinals in the 65s division. Later he talked about his impressive tennis history…
First Memory Of Tennis: In Fort Wayne, Indiana when I was young, the Parks & Recreation system had a league where we would play against other parks and then there was a city tournament at the end of the season. I was eight and my brother Kevin is four years older and we played in the final of the 12 and unders. He said, “You could have at least let me win a game!” He still brings that up [smiles].
First Famous Player You Met Or Encountered: I remember going to the clay courts in Indianapolis and seeing Bjorn Borg when he was sixteen.
Greatest Tennis Moment(s): Not great but fun moments. I got to play an exhibition with Martina Navratilova against Jennifer Capriati and the Kentucky football coach Jerry Claiborne, who loved to play tennis, he liked to dive for balls. Jennifer was really young. Martina was really nice. My sophomore year of high school I got to play with the no. 1 player, a senior, a big tall lefty, I got to play with him every day in practice which was a great experience. Senior year in Regional playoffs, third set I hit a winner in the corner but he called it out. In California at grass courts I played Mark Vines the no. 1 seed. I won the coin toss before the match, that’s all that I won. But I won the backdraw, five or six matches. I once had the chance to return an Andy Roddick serve at an exhibition in Kentucky. They said if anyone could return Andy’s serve, everyone in the arena would get free pizza. So I was ready to return his serve. James Blake was behind me and said, “He’s not going to hold back.” He served and I lunged for it and the return just missed by an inch or two. I thought he was going to serve 140 not 130 so I hit it a little too early [smiles].
Why Do You Love Tennis: I think because I come from a team sport, in tennis you’re all by yourself especially in singles, you have to try to figure it out. It’s the opposite of basketball where you work together as a team to beat the other teams.
(Scoop Malinowski, Kyle Macy, Gary Plock, Mark Reagan in Bradenton, FL GT Bray Park.)
Favorite Players To Watch: Nadal – he competed so hard. Djokovic – adds personality to the game. Sampras – always fun to watch how he could pinpoint his serves. Agassi – the way he could wear people out.
Favorite Places To Play: I like different courts with unusual settings. I was fortunate to play on the grass courts at the Newport Hall of Fame, at Mission Hills on grass. Fortunate to experience all different kinds of courts and surfaces. When Kareem Abdul-Jabbar retired he did a farewell tour and we played on center court at the Australian Open in Melbourne.
Last Tennis Book Read: Your’s [smiles]. It was good. (Note: I gave Kyle a copy of Facing Bjorn Borg at the Bradenton tournament.)
Racquet Used: Wilson Clash.
Shoes: Wilson Rush Pro.
(Artwork by LeRoy Neiman.)
Andy Roddick · Chicago Bulls · Kyle Macy · NBA · Novak Djokovic · Phoenix Suns