Be Legendary curriculum // International Tennis Hall of Fame
Be Legendary is an International Tennis Hall of Fame initiative designed to inspire and empower youth at tennis programs around the world. We worked with ITHF to create a curriculum that offers young players unique access to the history of the sport, its values, and legendary players.
Be Legendary launches in Melbourne
In partnership with Tennis Australia, the International Tennis Hall of Fame launched the first stop of the program in Melbourne, Australia. Sixty-four of the best and brightest kids from the Tennis Australia Super 10s National Camp came together for an exciting week of activities inspired by two Australian tennis legends: three-time Major Title Champion Ash Barty and Hall of Famer Lleyton Hewitt.
Courtesy of the ITHF/Will MacNeil
Courtesy of the ITHF/Liz Vagg
Courtesy of the ITHF/Kate Whitney Lucey
The International Tennis Hall of Fame sought to launch Be Legendary, an ambitious global initiative designed to inspire and empower youth at tennis programs worldwide by connecting them with the sport's rich history, core values, and legendary players. With an announced international launch timeline requiring rapid development and deployment, their priorities included creating engaging, age-appropriate curriculum for players ages 10-18; developing scalable resources for diverse program sites; and ensuring a high-quality launch at their inaugural Melbourne engagement. NL&D collaborated with ITHF to:
Lead discovery and strategic planning processes to establish program priorities, success criteria, and scalable templates within an accelerated timeline;
Author comprehensive lesson-planning deliverables and educational resources introducing young players to 17 tennis legends including Kim Clijsters, Lleyton Hewitt, the Bryan Brothers, Martina Navratilova, and more;
Manage graphic design partnerships to create compelling Hall of Famer biographies and supporting visual materials;
Develop supplemental experiential resources that bridge tennis history with actionable inspiration for young athletes; and
Provide ongoing strategic guidance and program refinement support.
The initiative launched successfully in Melbourne before expanding to Indian Wells, Miami, Dallas, London, and Newport, achieving exceptional results across all sites. Staff feedback showed 100% agreement that Be Legendary resources positively impacted their programs, created excitement, and increased motivation. Player engagement was equally strong, with 100% of participants across all sites reporting they enjoyed learning about legendary players and increased their tennis history knowledge. The program's overall Net Promoter Score across four sites is 88 (n=34)—well above the 80+ threshold considered world-class.