Lloyd Hatcher Ford.  Long before her teens, Lloyd Hatcher Ford became immersed in tennis. She was ranked nationally in the 12-, 14-, 16-, and 18-and-under divisions, including 31st in singles and 13th in doubles in the 16s. Lloyd was consistently among the Virginia and Mid-Atlantic elite and played No. 1 for the St. Catherine’s School team for five years, graduating in 1977 alongside another standout player, Betty Baugh Harrison.

Lloyd developed her game in the RTA’s winter junior program and received the Ellen Smith Maloney Trophy as the Most Improved Player. She relishes the travel she and her doubles partner got to do, thanks to the RTA. “We just had so much fun, meeting people around the country,” Ford said. “The organization was so amazing and made me the person I am today. It made me adventurous and also realize there’s a lot more beyond our neighborhood.”

A natural talent, Lloyd was well-liked by her peers and fellow tennis players. Always funny, quick, and sharp, she was also a quick study of her opponents and grasped their strengths and weaknesses. She was fun and had lots of success on the court.

Lloyd was the City women’s runner-up in 1974 and won three ACC flight singles titles for North Carolina, plus one in doubles. She set a UNC senior record with 41 victories in her last season with the TarHeels. Before the NCAA was involved in women’s sports, she won a state Association for Intercollegiate Athletics for Women (AIAW)singles title and a Southern Region II doubles trophy.

After leaving Chapel Hill, Lloyd became the Assistant to the Executive Director of the International Tennis Hall of Fame in Newport, Rhode Island, working with women’s and pro tournaments there from 1981-83. She then went on to San Francisco at age 23 to become a Women’s Tennis Association tour director and served from 1984-87 as the liaison representing pro players with Virginia Slims tournament promoters.

I was getting to deal with them (players such as Chris Evert andMartina Navratilova) on a pretty serious level,” she said, “traveling 35 weeks a year.”

Lloyd stayed active in tennis competitions throughout her career, winning North Carolina’s 40-and-over singles and doubles titles in 2000 and 2002. She now stays active by mostly playing pickleball and golf.