Minot native David Anderson poses with his North Dakota Tennis Hall of Fame plaque during an induction ceremony on Saturday, June 13, at Magic City Campus. Anderson currently resides in Dallas,Texas, where he is the founder and tennis instructor of the Brookhaven Tennis Academy. Mike Kraft/MDN

As an athlete, perhaps nobody saw the sunrise and sunset from the tennis court as many times as David Anderson.

As a coach, Anderson joked that nobody has been fired by as many 12 year olds as the Minot native.

In his many decades he’s dedicated to the sport he’s been a part of since he was just eight years old, the game of tennis has provided Anderson with countless memories and opportunities he never imagined. On Saturday, June 13, he was recognized for his contributions to the sport, as he became the newest member of the North Dakota Tennis Hall of Fame during an induction ceremony at Magic City Campus, surrounded by former players, opponents and coaches, as well as the newest generation of Minot High players and coaches.

“It’s a great honor,” Anderson said. “I think of all the people who were here today as close friends. You know you have a close friend when you haven’t seen them in a long time, but it feels like you haven’t missed a beat when you do see them and to be here celebrating it with them and to be a part of some great names that have come before me is a great honor.”

Anderson didn’t come from a family of tennis players. Instead, he got swept up in the golden era of tennis in the 1970s like the rest of the country, watching the likes of John McEnroe, Bjorn Borg and Jimmy Connors. He picked up a tennis racket for the first time at the age of eight and would follow his brother to the tennis courts. While they wouldn’t play together, Anderson would play by himself, hitting the ball against the wall. That’s when he knew tennis was the career path for him.

Anderson joined the Minot High varsity team as a seventh grader in 1976 under the guidance of coach Jerry Lyon. Lyon was a seven-time coach of the year in North Dakota and the national high school tennis coach of the year in 1998. He won 778 matches and eight state titles in 33 years as a coach. He is in the National Coaches Hall of Fame (2012), the North Dakota Coaches Hall of Fame (2002) and the Minot High School Hall of Fame (2013).

With the Magicians, Anderson was a four-time all-conference and two-time all-state selection. He served as the No. 1 singles player on the 1980 and 1981 state championship teams. Anderson finished his career with 189 wins, ranking him fourth on the boys program’s all-time wins list. The Magicians were 103-7 in Anderson’s six years with the team, winning six regular season titles, five regional titles and two state titles.

His final high school match was against John Christen, who was in attendance on Saturday. Anderson and Christen – a Bishop Ryan graduate – squared off against one another in the state individual championship during their senior year, with Christen coming out on top.

“We just pushed each other,” Christen said. “There was a group of us that pushed each other to be the best we could be and it was a good group of guys. You have an appreciation for the work each other are putting in. Anybody that works that hard and you spend that much time with him, there’s a respect that develops and that happened with us.”

Christen is also a member of the North Dakota Hall of Fame, as is Anderson’s high school teammate Raman Jayapathy. Christen and Jayapathy were enshrined in 2023. Around that time, both Christen and Jayapathy began the hall of fame nomination process for Anderson.

Jayapathy and Anderson were teammates from 1976-1979. Jayapathy was Minot High’s first individual state champion for the boys side, winning the title in 1979. Outside of the high school season, Anderson and Jayapathy were doubles partners, traveling across the state, as well as to South Dakota, Minnesota and Canada.

“You really have to know your partner,” Jayapathy said. “The communication is so important. Since we had been playing all the time together, it was pretty easy. We pretty much read each other’s mind and it was really a good team because of how we melded together. I was very competitive, but so was David, so it really helped us move up in our abilities.”

After high school and college, Anderson remained engulfed in the sport as he traveled across the county to compete in tournaments. Anderson said he felt like he was playing some of his best tennis in his late 20s.

“I always had a dream,” Anderson said. “My dream was more about trying to make it as a tennis player, which the odds of that are literally calculated at 1 in 2,000,000. But I did get to travel and do that, but it’s just a hard way to make it solely on your playing ability. I don’t think it’s always the winning part of it, but more proving to yourself that you are competitive at a particular level.”

When it was time to call it a career, Anderson switched his focus from playing to coaching. Prior to moving down to Texas, Anderson spent time in Boca Raton, Fla., to help create what is now the Evert Tennis Academy, named after 18-time Grand Slam winner Chris Evert.

In 1993, Anderson established the Brookhaven Tennis Academy and has served as the head professional and academy director for 33 years. In its history, Brookhaven has taught thousands of athletes, produced some of America’s top junior players, and developed more than 500 collegiate athletes.

“What I look for is trying to get someone on a path and a journey where hopefully they can enjoy tennis the rest of their life,” Anderson said. “Getting them to college is a huge goal for me and finding the right athletic and academic fit is priority No. 1. I love when I see former students playing at 45 and 50 years old. I feel like that’s a victory.”

When Anderson first launched the academy, he had a team of two other full-time coaches. Today, Anderson employs 28 full-time coaches from four continents.

“My coaching philosophy is you’re on a life-long journey to learn and the coach should be looking to grow just as much as the player,” Anderson said. “When we do that, great things happen. When I do hire new coaches, I look for people who are passionate about learning, like helping and serving other people and I don’t really base it on whether they were a great player or not, but more so those qualities.”

Jayapathy said he wasn’t surprised at the successful career Anderson has had in coaching. He’s even sent some of his players down to Texas to attend his academy.

“I thought all of us would make for a good coach because with coach Lyon, he really taught fundamentals really well and we were actually listening,” Jayapathy said. “All of us would have been a great coach and it was exactly what Dave said was the ‘Why?’ He finally answered that and it took off. He is the best at it.”

Anderson will be traveling across the pond to be in attendance at Wimbledon to watch a couple of his players compete. It’s the first time Anderson will be at the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club.

Anderson is in his early 60s, but he has no plans on slowing down any time soon. Retirement isn’t in his vocabulary.

“I can’t retire,” Anderson said. “It’s not who I am. I will go until I can’t go and even when I can’t go, I’ll still keep going. I love the sport. I love helping people. I’m definitely doing what I was called to do.”

Saturday’s ceremony was just as much as a reunion. Jayapathy and Christen hadn’t seen Anderson in person for decades. Jayapathy lives in Minneapolis-St. Paul and Christen calls Fargo home. When they met, it felt like time had barely passed.

“Tennis is great,” Christen said. “From that, we’ve developed a lot of friendships and a lot of those people were here today. In the end, that’s the most important thing is the relationships that you develop. It’s not about the tennis; it’s about the people. As I’ve gotten older, that’s what I’ve learned. The wins were great at the time, but it’s the people you met and the memories and those relationships that stand out.”

Anderson was one of two members enshrined in the hall of fame class of 2026. Minnesota Crookston women’s tennis head coach and Grand Forks Red River’s boys head coach Josh Lunak also earned his invitation to the North Dakota Tennis Hall of Fame.

The North Dakota Tennis Hall of Fame was established in 2014 and is located in Grand Forks inside the Choice Health & Fitness.