Flo Bryan (right) now negotiates deals for the American Cancer Society

Hugh Waters was a city pro in Orlando, Florida when Flo Bryan came to take a lesson.  Her uncle, concerned that she was spending too much time beating up the neighborhood boys in football and baseball, wanted her to try something a bit more feminine.

"She was very strong, one of the strongest girls I've ever encountered," recalls Hugh, who eventually became Flo's 'adoptive' father.  "She was very accurate from the beginning. Tall for her age."

Hugh didn't pick her out of a group and decide to make her a star.  "Actually, I treated all my players the same.  I wanted all of them to be the best they could be....she was actually a bit rough.  But I liked her."

Hugh told Flo's uncle Charlie that he could bring her back to the courts for lessons at no charge.  Flo was eleven.  From that moment, her life would be forever changed.

Flo was born to parents without the ability to hear or speak.  "She didn't hear conversation until she was placed in foster care after her parents died. She was bounced around as a child and eventually landed with her Aunt and Uncle in Orlando.  They had to teach her how to talk.  

"She has developed very nicely. I'm  proud of her," said Hugh.

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In 1970, Hugh moved his family to Richmond to become the Head Tennis Pro at The Westwood Club.  Flo came to visit the family for two weeks the following summer.  It worked out well for everybody and Flo's tennis took a big jump, playing with kids and adults.  She stayed, and but for a brief visit back to Florida, she effectively came to live with the Waters family at age 14, attending Tucker HS. 

While at Tucker, she played in every tournament she could, and quickly became ranked in the state, regionally and nationally as a junior.  The Richmond Tennis Patrons Association (now the RTA) helped pay her travel expenses.

"I just wish I had been younger when I started," said Flo.  "I was older than most of the other players when we traveled to tournaments.

"Because of that, I was considered the 'responsible one'," she joked.  "That's scary."

The Waters'  new 'family member' won the VA State High School Girls Singles Tennis Championship. As a 9th grader, she became the first person in the title's history to do that.  Flo won the Richmond City Singles Tennis Title in 1972, 1973, and 1974.  She was a finalist (to Betty Baugh Harrison, now a Richmond veterinarian) in 1975.

"Tennis was my life," said Flo. "It truly opened the door to a lot of opportunities."

One opportunity it presented was coaching tennis.  Flo was the women's tennis coach at Johns Hopkins and at a club in Baltimore, MD after she graduated from High School.  She taught tennis to help fund her play in satellite tournaments. 

"When I got to the satellite tournaments, it was really tough.  Very hard.  The draws weren't as big - maybe 32 in the main draw.  The feeder system didn't quite exist back in the 70's, " explained Flo.  "So there were the top 32, then the rest of us.

"And, I could have been more self-disciplined."

Flo is referring to an injury she feels she could have prevented by taking more care to prepare-- in this case, stretching.

"I came out when it was rainy and cold without stretching and tore muscle fibers in my thigh during a match.  It forced me to take several months off.  Fortunately, I was able to support myself teaching tennis in Baltimore at Bare Hills.

"I basically settled down at age 21, stopped competing. My life just evolved in a different direction after that."

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The girl who started as a bit rough around the edges now is a well respected business woman who negotiates high powered business to business marketing arrangements for companies like Disney's Wide World of Sports and the American Cancer Society.  She has sat on international governing boards of directors and has traveled to Australia and Colombia and points in-between.  

"I'm really proud of the fact that when I was the Vice President of Event Management for a sports marketing company in California, we were partly responsible for launching what is now the Olympic Triathlon.  The Triathlon fascinated me, and I knew it was going to be a real sport - not a fad.  We developed the 'olympic length', which made it possible for the Triathlon to be an Olympic sport," she said.

Flo also worked as Vice President of Business Development for Pro Beach Volleyball.  "My position evolved into negotiating partnerships where I created win-win situations for companies."

Where did she get the background to be such a sought-after business person?  Flo attributes much of it to her tennis experience.  "Tennis taught me life lessons and people skills... it certainly gave me a strong foundation for sports marketing."

Flo is also very thankful for the Waters family. "Hugh was inducted into the MAS Tennis Hall of Fame.  He means everything to me.  He changed my life....he really is my 'dad'.

"The family took me in and showed me I had talent and gave me confidence.  I got to play with a great group of people when I was growing up:  Mark Vines, Junie Chatman, the Cains, Lloyd Hatcher - they were all such good players. And the Waters family too:  Hugh ("Hoofy"), Margie (now Margie Ray) and Druanne (now Druanne Cummings).  Margie was All-American at William & Mary.

"Tennis relationships last for a lifetime.  They do."

In Flo's case, tennis meant a new family.