Jack Graham

Major Accomplishments

Served as President of the Nova Scotia Tennis Association (now Tennis Nova Scotia) from 1995 to 2001.

Elected to Tennis Canada’s Board of Directors and served from 2001 to 2019.

Became the first Canadian elected to the ITF Board of Directors in 2009.

Served as Tennis Canada’s Chair of the Board from 2004 to 2006.

During his mandate, Tennis Canada opened its first National Tennis Centre in Montreal.

Currently serving as Chair of the Atlantic Tennis Centre.

Secured public funding for the creation of an 18-court Regional Training and Community Centre in Halifax.

Biography

Having started playing the sport at 12 years of age, Jack Graham has since spent over 40 years dedicated to Canadian tennis. He was originally a hockey player but after winning a few matches at the junior level, he fell in love with tennis. Mr Graham worked as a summer student at the Windsor Tennis Club and was soon hired by Nova Scotia Tennis Association to run clinics, programs and competitions in communities, clubs and centres across the province.

In the early 1980s, the US Professional Tennis Registry gave him the highest-possible level of teaching designation. Having risen through the ranks of the Nova Scotia Tennis Association, he became the association’s President (1995 to 2001) before being elected to Tennis Canada’s Board of Directors (2001 to 2019). He was Chair of the Board from 2004 to 2006 and helped lay the foundation for Canada to become a leading tennis nation. During his mandate, Tennis Canada made the decision to significantly invest in athlete development, which included opening the organization’s first National Tennis Centre in Montreal. He was also instrumental in bringing the Davis Cup to Nova Scotia, advocating for municipalities to support year-round tennis play and helping build a strong tennis pathway for the country to grow the game.

Mr. Graham also continues to proudly represent Canada on the global tennis stage. In 2009, he became the first Canadian elected to the International Tennis Federation Board of Directors. Last September, he was re-elected for a fifth term, becoming the longest serving Director on the ITF Board. He has led all of the major governance enhancements at the ITF over the past decade. Finally, as Chair of the new Atlantic Tennis Centre, Mr. Graham successfully secured public funding from all three levels of government and from donors, resulting in the creation of an 18-court Regional Training and Community Tennis Centre in Halifax.

Mr Graham is also the Chair of the Board at Atlantic Canadian law firm McInnes Cooper, one of the 20 largest firms in the country. He is recognized as a leading labour and employment lawyer in Canada.