A Lifelong Friendship Created On the Court Between Richmond’s Tom Cain and John McEnroe.
Tom Cain
Richmond’s Tom Cain playing in the 1983 U.S. Open.
Richmond native Tom Cain, 61, grew up playing tennis in town during the golden age of tennis in the 1970’s and, as it turned out, tennis would be his ticket to see the world. He achieved a top ranking of 68 on the ATP World Rankings. He played at Wimbledon, U.S. Open, Australian Open and French Open.
Tom Cain meets John McEnroe
At age 12, Tom Cain (far right) became friends with future tennis great John McEnroe (far left) at a tennis camp in Port Washington, N.Y. Also pictured are friends Andy Kohlberg and Robert Rosello (left to right).
In the 1960’s, Cain’s mother, Sue, who was a professional tennis umpire, helped start the Richmond Tennis Association (called the Richmond Lawn Tennis Association at the time). As a junior, Cain dominated, earning a No. 1 ranking in all age groups in Virginia and the Mid-Atlantic. At 11, he earned a scholarship to train at an academy in Port Washington, New York. He rode the train from Richmond to Grand Central Station where he was picked up by Kay McEnroe. Little did he know at the time, that was just the beginning of a lifelong friendship with John McEnroe.
In the ’70s, Richmond had more nationally-ranked juniors than anywhere else in the country.
“The RTA helped fund a program for juniors,” said Cain. “We trained at Westwood at 5:30 in the morning with Hugh Waters and Tom Magner and all traveled the junior circuit together.”
Cain often roomed with McEnroe on the road.
“We practiced together and played doubles,” says Cain. “The better I got, the more I wanted to play.”
Cain was an All-American at Southern Methodist University and turned pro after his junior year.
John McEnroe and Tom Cain
John McEnroe and Tom Cain after playing a tournament in Richmond in 2001.
“I practiced with John a lot through the years,” he says. “Wimbledon, U.S. Open and lots of different tournaments. Once we were at a tournament in Chicago and John won the semi-final, and was scheduled to play Connors in the singles final and also the doubles final on Sunday. Saturday night, we went out on the town, when I went to bed it was 3:30 a.m. and John was still up. At 12 on Sunday, we stumbled onto the court to warm up for his finals match. He beat Connors in 5 sets and comes right back to win the doubles final with Peter Fleming. It was the most impressive physical accomplishment. John always had surreal talent. He knew how to play the game and had the best serve. It was the hardest, but he could place it on a dime and then follow it up with great volleys.”
Arthur Ashe captained the Davis Cup team between 1981 and 1985; and McEnroe was a big proponent of the Davis Cup and of playing on the team which had back-to-back wins in 1981 and 1982.
“I think that really cemented McEnroe’s connection to Richmond,” says Cain. “I knew Arthur, but knew his dad better. His dad was the custodian at the Coliseum and ran the ball boys for the United Virginia Bank Tennis Classic. We grew up being ball boys so it was pretty fun to come back to play as a pro.”
Tom Cain
When the senior tour featuring McEnroe and Connors came to the Hermitage Country Club, Cain and McEnroe were partners.
“We won our first match which was a lot of fun, John stayed at my house, and exciting,” says Cain, “because by that time I had quit tennis and was working in a different career.”
Ask anyone who appreciates tennis, and they will tell you tennis teaches you a lot about life and about yourself.
“Tennis has given me some incredible life experiences,” says Cain. “It allowed me to travel the country, and, as a pro, I saw the world through tennis. It’s amazing, especially in hindsight, to see how tennis exposed me to so many different world cultures which really shapes how you see the world.”
Cain lives in Richmond and works with players on developing their game to the next level.
