In memoriam: Remembering Bob Arrix, a tournament trailblazer

The WTA mourns the passing of respected tournament promoter Robert J. Arrix, who passed away on July 20 at the age of 86.

In tennis circles, Bob Arrix is remembered as Tournament Chairman of the highly successful Bausch & Lomb Championships, which built a rich history on the green clay of Amelia Island, Florida from 1980 until 2008 before moving to the Sawgrass Country Club at Ponte Vedra Beach. He was also a long-serving member of the WTA’s Board of Directors.

Established by Arrix at the behest of WTA Founder Billie Jean King, the Bausch & Lomb Championships attracted the best of the very best, with Martina Navratilova, Chris Evert, Stefanie Graf, Gabriela Sabatini, Monica Seles, Arantxa Sanchez Vicario and Lindsay Davenport all collecting multiple titles. In the last staging in 2008, Maria Sharapova defeated Dominika Cibulkova in the final. 
An outstanding sportsman who played American football for Notre Dame University, Arrix built a successful career in marketing with major brands such as Colgate-Palmolive, Johnson & Johnson and Trans World Airlines (TWA). 

He then combined his love for athletics and advertising when he moved into a job at Ski Magazine as Vice President of Sales and Marketing. 

In 1973 he founded Capital Sports, a marketing company that would go on to redefine how brands integrated with sporting events. Over the course of more than a quarter of a century, Capital Sports was instrumental in building and facilitating events such as the 1980 Olympic Games in Lake Placid, the Tour de France, the Equitable Family Tennis and Ski Challenges and in tennis, the US Open as well as the Bausch & Lomb Championships. 

In a 2005 article, Arrix proclaimed that “to stay young, you must be involved with life. Attitude is everything. If you can’t laugh, if you can’t enjoy what you’re doing, then life is just not worth living.” 

He is survived by his wife of 61 years, Catherine, along with his six children and 19 grandchildren.
“It is thanks to leaders like Bob Arrix that the WTA is the global success story it is today,” said Steve Simon, Chairman and CEO of the WTA.

“The Bausch & Lomb Championships at Amelia Island are fondly remembered as among the best run and most enjoyable stops on the tour, and that is largely due to Bob’s commitment as promoter and Tournament Chairman over the course of many years. Bob brought a special mix of professionalism and passion for sports to everything he did and was an inspiration to many.

“The WTA family expresses its sincere condolences to Bob’s wife, Cate and all his loved ones.”