When the Aspen Club Was the Center of the Tennis World
Today, the site of the Aspen Club sits quietly on Ute Avenue. For longtime locals, it evokes memories of workouts, swimming, and one of Aspen's most beloved athletic institutions. But there was a time when it was something altogether different. For much of the 1980s, the Aspen Club was one of the premier tennis destinations in the country: a place where Grand Slam champions practiced, celebrities wandered the grounds, and thousands of fans watched some of the greatest players in the world compete beneath Aspen Mountain. It's one of Aspen's forgotten golden eras.
Aspen has always attracted world-class athletes. Long before endurance training became fashionable, Olympians, runners, cyclists, and skiers came to the valley for its altitude, cool summers, and mountain lifestyle. Tennis wasn't far behind. By the late 1970s, tennis participation was exploding across America. Aspen's growing reputation as a four-season destination created the perfect opportunity for something unique: bringing professional tennis to the Rockies.
Dick Butera. Aspen Times Photo.
Everything changed in 1982. Real estate developer, World TeamTennis founder, and tennis visionary Dick Butera purchased the Aspen Club. At nearly 60,000 square feet, the facility was one of the country's largest private athletic clubs. Butera envisioned something far bigger than a neighborhood fitness center: a destination where elite tennis and mountain living would intersect. The strategy worked, and almost immediately the Aspen Club became a magnet for tennis royalty. According to Aspen Public Radio, regular visitors included Billie Jean King, Martina Navratilova, Chris Evert, John McEnroe, Björn Borg and others. The club also attracted stars from well beyond tennis. Jane Fonda, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Michael Jordan, and Tom Brokaw were among the high-profile names who trained there over the years.
Morty Raynes, John McEnroe, Kenny Rogers and Björn Borg. Aspen Times Photo.
The Aspen Tennis Festival
Aspen begun making a name for itself with the Aspen Tennis Festival. Arthur Ashe, Billie Jean King, John McEnroe, Björn Borg, Kenny Rogers, Howard Cosell, Ted Kennedy, and many others participated in the festival during the early 1980s. The event blended exhibition tennis, celebrity appearances, and charitable fundraising in a way that was quintessentially Aspen. Unlike traditional tournaments, the festival celebrated both competition and community. Fans could watch Hall of Fame players from just a few feet away in an intimate mountain setting.
The Aspen Club became much more than a tournament venue. It reflected Aspen during one of its most transformative decades. The setting was unlike anywhere else. Matches unfolded beneath Ajax at nearly 8,000 feet above sea level while the town was evolving beyond a world-class ski destination into a true year-round mountain community built around athletics, culture, wellness, and outdoor recreation.
Professional tennis fit naturally into that identity. Players could hike in the morning, practice in the afternoon, and enjoy Aspen's restaurants and music in the evening. Long before "training camps" became commonplace, Aspen offered altitude, ideal summer weather, and an atmosphere that felt more like a mountain vacation than another stop on tour. That combination made the Aspen Club one of the most distinctive venues in professional tennis.
Martina Navratilova and Chris Evert.
The End of an Era
By the early 1990s, the professional tournaments disappeared. Professional tennis was becoming increasingly global, prize money was concentrating at larger venues, and the ATP Tour was evolving rapidly. Aspen quietly faded from the professional calendar. The Aspen Club, however, remained an important part of the community for decades before ultimately closing in 2016 amid redevelopment efforts. Today, it's difficult to imagine that one of the world's greatest tennis players might have been practicing just a few courts away from a local junior player. Yet for nearly a decade, that was everyday life at the Aspen Club. The facility helped establish Aspen as more than a ski town. It became a place where world-class athletes gathered year-round, where international competition met mountain lifestyle, and where tennis found one of its most unforgettable settings.