Jackson Jambalaya

What was once a tennis love affair has turned into war as Slew Hester's children sued the United Tennis Association in federal court today.  At stake are box seats and other privileges promised to the family of the man who built the National Tennis Center at Flushing Meadow.  

Born in 1912, William "Slew" Hester became a bedrock of American tennis. He won over 500 local, state, and national tournaments.  Like so many men, he served his country in World War II, earning the Bronze star for his work in the Red Ball Express.  Although he returned home and made his fortune in the oil industry, tennis was always his true love.  For once, love was requited as the United State Tennis Association named him President in 1978.  

Tennis was the province of the country clubs but that changed in the 1970's as interest in professional tennis grew.   

Slew capitalized on this trend and democratize tennis.  Wanting to move the U.S. Open from the staid country club at Forest Hills to a more modern facility, Slew formed a partnership with New York City and built the national tennis center at Flushing Meadows in an unheard of ten months, just in time for the 1978 U.S. Open.   The prime jewel of the U.S. Open was Louis Armstrong Stadium with a seating capacity of 18,000 seats.  

USTA was not ungrateful for Slew's leadership.  It placed  bronze plaque featuring Slew's likeness at the main entrance to Flushing Meadow that read "His vision and boundless energy created this tennis center.   USTA built a restaurant and called it "Slew's Place" with a portrait of Slew hanging over the bar.  

A young Slew Hester

The accolades continued for Slew as he was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame and became the first Chairman Emeritus of the U.S. Open.  The USTA  showed its appreciation as it bestowed upon Slew the perkiest of perks: permanent box seats to the U.S. Open at Louis Armstrong Stadium.  The private box was down the middle service line at the back of the court.    Premium seats indeed.  

The complaint claims USTA gave the seats to Slew and his heirs for life.  The family took advantage of their good fortune, attending the U.S. Open every year.  Indeed, the complaint called it a "family ritual."  

When the word "heirs" is used in stories such as this one, what usually follows is a dispute and a dispute there is in this case.  

Slew passed away in 1993. Louis Armstrong Stadium was getting a bit long in the tooth so  the USTA built  Arthur Ashe Stadium in 1997. The new stadium's seating capacity  was 23,000 seats.  

Once the USTA moved the U.S. Open's main matches to the new stadium, problems began (allegedly) for Slew's children, Kathryn, William (III), and George.   

The organization allowed the Hesters to keep seats in the new stadium but they were no longer in a prime location.  

 The complaint claims USTA "stuck" the Hesters in a corner with "the sightline blocked by the umpire's chair" and told the family it would have to "open up their pocketbooks to attend."  The plaintiffs claim they didn't mind paying for the seats but argue the promises made to their father obligate the USTA to provide comparable seats.  

The two sides talked but could not reach an agreement so the Hesters sued the USTA in federal court in 1998.  The USTA eventually settled with Slew's children.  The settlement agreement provided: 

a. subscription rights to Box 38G in Arthur Ashe Stadium upon timely payment of the applicable annual charges and subject to the same terms and conditions as other purchasers as more fully set forth in Exhibit A ... , beginning in 1998 and continuing for the lifetime of the Hesters or until such time as the U.S. Open is no longer contested at the Arthur Ashe Stadium, whichever is earlier;

b. eight bus passes for transportation to and from the USTA National Tennis Center for the Hesters and their guests during the U.S. Open for the lifetimes of the Hesters or for such time as regular bus service is provided during the U.S. Open, or until the Hesters cease subscribing to Box 38G, whichever is earlier;

c. not more than thirty-five passes to Slew's Place for each day of the U.S. Open, for the lifetimes of the Hesters or for such time as Slew's Place is in operation and the U.S. Open is contested at the Arthur Ashe Stadium, or until the Hesters cease subscribing to said Box 38G, whichever is earlier; and

d. the right to use Box 50A in the Louis Armstrong Stadium during the U.S. Open for a period of five years beginning in 1998 without charge (but only if the Hesters continue to subscribe to said Box 38G during said five years).

The annual price for the box would be $45,000.   However, the Hesters did not pay $45,000 each year for long as USTA raised the prices for years in a manner that was "gradual and incremental."  The price rose to $164,800 in 2023, which the Hesters dutifully paid. 

USTA started charging the Hesters sales tax in 2024, raising the total cost to $179,521.  The organization raised the ticket prices again in 2025 to $215,416 but the Hesters continued to pay. 

The plaintiffs claim they discovered USTA's plans to reconfigure the lower bowl in September 2025 and eliminate all box seating, including the Hester's box.  Construction had already begun.  The Hesters met with USTA but: 

64. In December 2025, the USTA informed the Hesters that their only recourse was to accept, in place of Box 35G or box seating at all, Seats 1-8 on Row E of Section 112-seats in the same vicinity but lacking the defining advantages of box seating, including greater privacy and seat-proximity for hosting friends and family. Other seats in the same section but in split rows were discussed in a subsequent meeting. These substitute seats are not what the parties agreed to in the Agreement.

65. Incredibly, after unilaterally eliminating the box seating it promised the Hesters, the USTA put a $460,000.00 price tag on the new, non-box seats for the 2026 U.S. Open-more than double what the Hesters paid for superior box seats in 2025 and a major departure from the gradual and incremental price increases of the past.

However, the USTA was not through with raising prices as it provided a schedule for future U.S. Opens: 

2027: 520,000

2028: 552,000

2029: 560,000

230: 584,000

The Hesters claim they can not pay the "exorbitant prices." They resubscribed through this year to keep the seats but said they are going to resell the tickets on the USTA's resale website. 

The plaintiffs charge the USTA continued to break other promises while dishonoring their father.  The plaque was removed in 1997 when the new stadium was built to "a location off the side of Arthur Ashe Stadium."  The plaque was moved to one of Arthur Ashe's "least-used exit ramps."  The Hesters claim the plaque disappeared in 2025 as they looked but could not find the plaque anyway at the National Tennis Center. 

The Hesters claim they never received their bus passes.  The painting was removed when the restaurant was converted to another restaurant.  USTA did not offer the Hesters any passes to the new facility. 

The indignities visited upon the House of Hester continued: 

74. When the rebuilt Louis Armstrong Stadium opened in 2018, the USTA moved the Hesters from the seats they'd had since 1980, when the USTA Board voted to grant Slew and his heirs a lifetime box. Six center-baseline seats altogether on the first row became seats in the upper corner of the lower bowl. Meanwhile, seat holders who had never had seats down the middle of the baseline were given prime seats in ""new"" Armstrong. After the Hesters lodged complaints, the USTA moved their seats back to the first row. But the new seats were straddling the doubles alley (far from the center baseline) and split 4/2 with a TV camera lodged in the middle.

The complaint accuses the USTA of breaking its contract with the Hesters and conspiring to deprive them of their privileges.  

The plaintiffs charge the USTA with breach of contract and bad faith breach of contract.  The Hesters seek an injunction against the USTA as well as compensatory damages of at least $75,000,  punitive damages, and attorney's fees. They ask the Court for specific performance of the 1998 settlement agreement. 

Attorneys Simon Bailey and P. Garner Vance of the Bradley Arant law firm represent the plaintiffs.  The case is assigned to U.S. District Judge Carlton Reeves and Magistrate Andrew Harris.