Dirk Nowitzki is bringing his tennis racket and his star-studded Rolodex back to Dallas next month. The Dirk Nowitzki Foundation will present its 8th Annual Tennis Classic on September 19, at Banner House at T Bar M, an indoor exhibition tournament that mixes celebrities, athletes, and philanthropy for a single afternoon and evening of Dallas fundraising.
Doors open at 11:30 a.m., with an official VIP After Party following at 6 p.m., according to CultureMap Dallas. Tickets run between $90 and $150, and the event is billed as an exhibition-style tournament where guests can expect high-energy matches, gourmet bites, and a social atmosphere, though organizers note the schedule could shift due to weather or other concerns. It's the foundation's primary annual fundraiser, according to a Prekindle listing for the event.
Last Year's Sold-Out Crowd Raised Over $1 Million
The tournament has real financial muscle behind the fun. The 7th Annual Tennis Classic, held in September 2025, raised more than $1 million for North Texas children's charities, with Team Dirk defeating Team Nash in front of a sold-out crowd, per PaperCity Magazine. Event proceeds go directly to the North Texas community, and the foundation has said 100 percent of the money raised funds impactful local projects.
Last year's roster leaned heavily on star power, drawing 2025 NBA No. 1 draft pick Cooper Flagg alongside former NBA standouts Steve Nash, Joakim Noah, and Devin Harris. MLB veteran Elvis Andrus, former tennis pro Coco Vandeweghe, actor Boris Kodjoe, and Coby Cotton of Dude Perfect also joined the lineup, according to the USTA, with players mic'd up during matches for fan entertainment. The 2026 celebrity lineup hasn't been fully announced yet, though the event has a track record of rolling out its player list in phases as September approaches.
From Würzburg Courts to Dallas Fundraising
Since launching in 2016, the tournament has attracted a wide mix of sports and entertainment figures over its eight-year run, including Dallas Mavericks star Luka Dončić, former NBA guard J.J. Barea, Grand Slam champion Andy Roddick, actors Ben Stiller and Owen Wilson, and TV personality Dr. Phil McGraw, according to PaperCity Magazine. The event was created to blend Nowitzki's love of tennis with local philanthropy, a connection that traces back to his childhood in Würzburg, Germany, where he played competitive tennis and handball before shifting his focus to basketball at age 13.
The foundation itself is a 501(c)(3) private entity founded in Texas in 2001. For fiscal year 2024, it reported total annual revenues of $1,286,288 against total expenses of $1,053,189, and it operates with zero paid staff, according to Cause IQ. The organization's grant-making rules prohibit funding administrative salaries or issuing repeat grants to the same entity within a single calendar year, per Grantmakers.io. Among its fiscal year 2024 grants were $100,000 to the Dallas Tennis Association for Team Nowitzki and $25,000 to domestic violence center The Family Place.
A Newly Renovated Home Court
This year's tournament also gives North Texans a look at a freshly overhauled venue. Banner House at T Bar M, located at 6060 Dilbeck Lane, reopened to members in March after a $70 million transformation led by development firm WoodHouse, according to City Lifestyle. The club now offers 21 tennis courts along with padel and pickleball courts and upscale hospitality amenities, a significant upgrade for a facility originally opened in 1972 by Texas tennis figures Jack Turpin, Tut Bartzen, and Clarence Mabry.
Beyond the tennis courts, the Dirk Nowitzki Foundation runs bi-annual food drives that have fed more than 5,000 North Texas families, including Thanksgiving distribution events that provide nearly 800 holiday meals, according to MavsTV. Nowitzki and his family reportedly assist in person at those distribution events. He also runs a parallel organization in Germany, the Dirk Nowitzki-Stiftung, which funds youth development and education projects across Europe, per FORTYONE Magazine, extending his philanthropic reach well beyond Dallas.
The tennis classic arrives roughly a month after Hoodline reported on the death of former Mavericks coach Don Nelson, the man who drafted both Nowitzki and Nash to Dallas back in 1998 and helped set the stage for the partnership now being celebrated on the tennis court each September.
