White House tennis court

The tennis court at the White House, the official residence of the president of the United States in Washington, D.C., is located on the South Lawn.

Attendees included people as diverse as the French ambassador Jean Jules Jusserand, the Supreme Court Justice William Henry Moody, soldier Luther "Yellowstone" Kelly, the Oklahoman wolf hunter John Abernathy and Pudge Heffelfinger, the football player.

The Los Angeles Times wrote that this "came to be a popular symbol of what many felt was the fatal flaw of his presidency: the unwillingness to delegate authority on small matters".

However, according to his domestic policy advisor Stuart Eizenstat, Carter only asked his staff to sign up in advance to avoid coming to the court when he or First Lady Rosalynn were playing.

[5] Bert Lance, the Director of the Office of Management and Budget who was accused of corruption, gave his resignation to Carter during a match on the court.

[2] Carter's Chief of Staff, Hamilton Jordan, was a regular player on the court and was often seen wearing his tennis outfit in his office at the White House.

Politicians included John Herrington, Paul Laxalt, Joe Wright, William H. Webster, the Director of the FBI and Swedish ambassador Wilhelm Wachtmeister.

The centerpiece of the inaugural tournament was the doubles match viewed by Ronald and Nancy Reagan, which saw John Forsythe and Pam Shriver take on Roscoe Tanner and the Secretary of State George Shultz.

[11] The game featured the NBA and WNBA players Shane Battier, LeBron James, Magic Johnson, Maya Moore, Alonzo Mourning, Joakim Noah, Chris Paul and Derrick Rose in addition to Obama's friends from high school.