Donald Dell on always pushing for progress

"I think athletes, if they are organized, can be the biggest element of change of anybody because they have a platform. They can stand up and talk everyday and people want to cover them."

As tennis' first sports agent Donald Dell has a lot of insight on how far the sport has come, and how much farther it has to go. The Hall of Famer joins the TENNIS.com Podcast this week to talk about why a tour merger is necessary, how he helped push for prize money at the start of the Open era, what his relationship with Arthur Ashe was like and how he ended up working for Robert F. Kennedy.

After his own career, Dell became the youngest Davis Cup captain at 29 and led the U.S. team to victory in 1968 and '69. His talented Davis Cup team included Stan Smith and Arthur Ashe, who he would represent for decades. Ashe and Dell's relationship is rich, with Ashe once referring to Dell as one of the two people in the world he would trust with his life, along with his own father. 

Beyond getting his athletes the best deals, Dell has been a strong proponent of growing tennis, and pushing for a more cohesive tour system. That goal hasn't changed one bit over 50-plus years. 

You can also watch this TENNIS.com Podcast episode on YouTube and Facebook.

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