2020 Hall of Fame Inductees
John Karl “Doc” Hosbach, Henderson, KY given posthumously. Doc was a 1918 Barrett High graduate and is considered the father of tennis in Henderson.
Doc received numerous awards for his work with youth including a National Pop Warner Youth Award presented by the Women's Club of Henderson. He was selected as an Honorary Member of the Rotary Club of Henderson. In 1966, the YMCA recognized Doc for his volunteer service. His portrait continues to hang in the lobby.
He was the Distinguished Citizen of the Year in 1961 by the local Chamber of Commerce. And honored as part of the inaugural class of the Henderson County Sports Hall of Fame in 1988 as the leading vote getter.
As a result of his cooperative work with the city and schools, the public tennis complex was named in his honor by the city in the 1960's and in 2013 a monument was constructed and dedicated to Doc.
The Henderson Tennis Club continues to award an annual scholarship to a local high school senior in his name and hosts an annual tournament where the champion is given a brick. Yes, there is a Doc story to this.
He taught tennis to thousands for over 55 years When asked how many players he has instructed during that time, Doc was quoted as saying "Oh, that would be hard to say, mighty hard. But it would be up in the thousands. Probably 10,000 or so."
Vimal Patel, Naples, FL originally from Owensboro, KY where he attended Owensboro Catholic High School and had an incredible junior tennis career ranked as high as number one in the state, number two in the South, and number two Nationally through multiple age groups U12-U18.
Vimal won and placed in many Local, Sectional, and National championships. He competed in international competitions in South Africa, Brazil, Canada, and Great Britain as a junior under 18 tennis player. Vimal accepted a tennis scholarship to attend Stanford University in 1990 where he was a four-year letterman, three time All American and was on the 1992 National Championship Team, 1992 Indoor National Championship Team, and the 1994 National Runner Up Team.
He is one of only five players in Stanford Tennis history to have at least three seasons of 20 or more dual match wins with play under Hall of Fame coach Dick Gould.
Vimal competed professionally around the world in 20 countries and received an ATP ranking in both singles and doubles.
Paul Varga of Louisville, KY played tennis for the University of Kentucky from 1981-1985 and still today is the second winningest player in the school’s history. He was a two-time All-SEC performer (both athletically and academically) and became UK’s second player to ever qualify for NCAA singles competition. After school, Paul had a successful 31-year career at Brown-Forman Corporation serving the last 15 years as its Chief Executive Officer. Paul is a charter member of the UK Tennis Hall of Fame, UK’s Gatton School of Business Hall of Fame, and a recipient of the Distinguished Alumni Award from UK’s Lewis Honors College. He is the son of Dr. Donald and Shirley Varga, both of whom have made significant contributions to the sport of tennis at the state, Southern (STA) and National (USTA) levels. Paul’s father Donald was inducted to the Kentucky Tennis Hall in 2005 and the Southern Tennis Hall of Fame in 2012.
“I am of course honored by this wonderful recognition”, Varga stated. “Our Mom and Dad made tennis a family affair and I wouldn’t have accomplished much without them. So, it’s extra special to receive a recognition that was similarly awarded to my Dad.”
2021 Hall of Fame Inductees
Donnie Head of Richmond, KY has had a tremendous impact on tennis in Kentucky. He played #1 singles for University of Kentucky Southeast Community College in Cumberland, KY. He coached both the boys and girls’ tennis teams at Corbin High School to multiple regional and sectional titles. Donnie was named Kentucky High School Athletic Association and the Mideastern Sectional Girls Tennis Coach of the Year.
Donnie started the Mountain Tennis Circuit (MTC) in 1990, which became a USTA Kentucky Community Tennis Association in 1994. He served as President for 20 years and still holds a position on the Board of Directors. He has served on the USTA Kentucky Board of Director for 4 years.
Donnie has run numerous tennis tournaments, USTA summer youth programming and free clinics in southeastern Kentucky. Donnie was awarded the CSX Railroad, where he was employed, Volunteer of the Year for his tennis work in the community.
He was inducted into the Corbin High School Hall of Fame, and the Mountain Tennis Circuit Hall of Fame.
Greg Hill of Henderson, KY currently living in Sarasota, FL. Greg began playing tennis competitively as a jr. and was ranked as high as #1 in the Southern section and #35 nationally. Greg played for Texas A&M and was their first NCAA All-American in Texas A&M history and held the all-time singles winning record for 25 years. Greg went on to play competitively as an adult claiming career wins over Agassi, Rostagno, and Sammy Giammalva.
After his playing career, Greg was an elite tennis coach at IMG Bollettiri Tennis Academy in Bradenton, Fl for 15 years. He was the personal traveling coach to Marcelo Rios (former number 1 in the world), Mary Jo Fernandez (French Open Finalist, Olympic Gold Medal winner), Iva Majoli (French Open Champion), Alexandra Stevenson (Wimbledon semi-finalist), Tommy Haas (former world No.2), and Vince Spadea (former world No. 19). While at IMG Greg has trained top tennis stars such as Andre Agassi, Serena Williams, Maria Sharapova, Tatiana Golovin, Anna Kournikova, and many more.
Greg was instrumental in the future of many tennis greats.
Dee Maynard of Shelbyville, KY has taken volunteerism to the next level and has made phenomenal accomplishments in the world of youth tennis.
Dee picked up a tennis racquet at age 50, and quickly became an avid league player and tennis advocate. She has been the Treasurer and the backbone of the USTA Kentucky “Gold Rated” Louisville 10 and Under Tennis Association (LOU10U) since its inception in 2011. Under Dee’s leadership, in 2019 LOU10U had 2227 registered players, the highest number in the country. For nearly 20 years Dee has been coordinating the tennis programs for Shelby County Parks. She was instrumental in significant increases in Junior Team Tennis and National Junior Tennis and Learning participation and has secured funding for wheelchair tennis programming.
Dee has worked tirelessly to obtain well over $100,000 in grants to bring tennis to underserved areas through programming and facility renovations. Dee has maintained her commitment to provide an opportunity for every child in the Louisville Metropolitan area to grow socially, physically, and emotionally through tennis in parks, schools, and community centers. She also served as co-director of the 2016 – 2019 ITA-UTR Tennis Tournaments in Louisville which provide regional players the opportunity to qualify for the US Open. In Mayor Greg Fischer's opinion: “Dee is more interested in helping others than helping herself. The world needs more Dee Maynards.”
Dee’s honors include, 2016 USTA Southern Service Award, Tennis Industry Magazine recognition as a NJTL Star in 2017 and Tennis Magazine recognized Dee as a Kentucky Hero. Dee is also a member of the Kentuckiana Business Hall of Fame.