A 2.2-acre lot along the Norwood Lateral is about to become the permanent home court for Xavier University's men's and women's tennis teams, and a headquarters for a nonprofit that mixes free tutoring with racquet sports. Developer Neyer Properties and the Cincinnati Tennis Foundation are building the First Serve Tennis and Education Center at 1907 Ross Avenue, a project that folds collegiate athletics, youth programming and academic enrichment into a single Norwood address.
The Cincinnati Business Courier reported that Xavier's campus sits less than two miles from the site, making the new center a logical fit for a program that previously lacked a dedicated home court, according to Cincinnati Business Courier. As WKRC reported, the facility will mark the Cincinnati Tennis Foundation's first standalone headquarters, built through a partnership between Neyer Properties and the nonprofit. The station noted the site sits immediately north of the Hamilton County Central Campus and immediately east of the Encompass Health Rehabilitation Hospital of Cincinnati, with visibility along the Norwood Lateral.
What the Center Will Offer
Beyond serving as Xavier's practice and competition courts, the facility is planned to include year-round tennis and pickleball lessons, matchplay, after-school tutoring and other educational programs, per the station's report. The Cincinnati Tennis Foundation already reaches more than 1,700 players annually through school and summer programs, and it operates as the primary youth programming partner at the renovated, $260 million Cincinnati Open venue at the Lindner Family Tennis Center, according to Axios.
The academic piece of that mission is concrete enough to show up in hiring records. A University of Pennsylvania Career Services job posting lists the foundation seeking a full-time Schools and Community Educator, paid between $45,000 and $55,000 annually, to deliver math, reading and financial literacy instruction at its centers and partner schools. The nonprofit was founded in 2015 by CEO Matt Dektas to reduce financial barriers to competitive tennis and is now run by Executive Director Nikki Cioffi, according to nonprofit records from Cause IQ.
Adaptive Sports and a Track Record of Court Upgrades
The new center would extend a pattern of investment the foundation has already built around Cincinnati. It recently received a $35,000 grant from The Hartford and Move United to buy three sports wheelchairs and pickleball equipment, supporting programs that serve more than 100 adaptive and wheelchair athletes each year, as reported by EIN Presswire. The foundation partners with the University of Cincinnati's wheelchair tennis team on that programming.
Earlier in 2026, the foundation worked with the Cincinnati Open and Great American Insurance Group to fully resurface six community tennis courts at Withrow University High School, creating an outdoor hub serving nearly 1,000 youth annually, the tournament announced.
Zoning Hurdles and a Changing Norwood Lateral
Before any courts get built, the project has to clear Norwood's municipal approval process. The Norwood Planning Commission held a public hearing in August to review a Preliminary Planned Unit Development application for the parcel, followed by a Norwood City Council special hearing in October, according to Norwood Community Television.
The project is planned for 1907 Ross Avenue, along the Norwood Lateral. The project adds to a broader surge of racquet-sports investment in Norwood; Hoodline previously covered Pickle Lodge's Norwood expansion, when the commercial court operator acquired ACES Pickleball Bar & Grill at Factory 52, bringing its regional network to 51 courts across three locations.
Exactly how construction costs and timelines will shake out, and how the center will divide its hours between Xavier's collegiate training schedule and the foundation's public programming, remains unclear. What is established is the scope of the ambition: a single Norwood address meant to host Division I college tennis matches on one afternoon and a kid's first pickleball lesson or tutoring session on the next.
