Hendrix College Athletics

Alma Mater: Arkansas-Little Rock
Seasons: 21st season as women's coach, 20th as men's

Harold Henderson enters his 21st season at the helm of Hendrix and women's tennis team and 20th as the men's head coach. Henderson came to Hendrix in the fall of 1997 as the women's coach and a year later he added the men’s team to his responsibilities.

During his tenure, Henderson has coached seven all-conference selections and 11 honorable mentions on the women's side, including the 2009 SCAC Player of the Year and All-American. Henderson has also coached 12 men's all-conference honorees and five honorable mentions.

Henderson had a delayed discovery of his love for tennis. His initial love was for the sport of baseball.

Having played Little League, Babe Ruth League, American Legion, college ball and a summer of semi-pro ball, he had visions of a professional career with baseball. However, life offers unexpected and exciting turns. He graduated from Little Rock University (now University of Arkansas at Little Rock) with a bachelor's in Psychology, served four years active duty in the U.S. Navy, and earned his master's in Education at Inter-American University (Puerto Rico).

Henderson's return to Arkansas and entry into the world of business led him to friends who were avid tennis players and he immediately fell in love with the sport. Rekindling the flame that once burned for baseball, Henderson had a new course for his competitive energies. In nearly forty years of tennis, he has at various times been ranked #1 in Arkansas in singles, doubles, and mixed doubles. Henderson has captained and played on United State Tennis Association teams that have won numerous state championships, three southern championships, and placed second and third in national championships.

After retiring from Merrill Lynch, Henderson converted tennis from avocation to vocation when he became certified by the United States Professional Tennis Association in 1995. He has served the Arkansas tennis community in various roles including 14 years on the Executive Committee of the Arkansas Tennis Association. In 1997 the Arkansas Tennis Association honored him with the Henry Doyle Outstanding Senior Award for “Leadership and Personal Example Throughout the Tennis Community of Arkansas”. In 2008 The United States Professional Tennis Association, Arkansas Chapter, named Henderson the Arkansas USPTA Professional of the Year.

“I have benefited greatly from a lifetime of athletic activity and competition. Tennis has been especially generous because it has offered the opportunities to extend these benefits across many decades. Every moment on a tennis court, whether playing, teaching, coaching or just watching, has been a gift. But the moments of greatest reward have come through my association with Hendrix College. Having a temporary role in the lives of distinguished student-athletes on their way to making our world a better place is a privileged responsibility.”