Athletic Hall of Fame 2024: Karen Rothschild Rembert '86
Tennis
Karen Rothschild Rembert, a state singles and doubles champion, began teaching tennis while still in high school, encouraging her friends to join her on the Cardinal Gibbons tennis team.
As a freshman, Karen claimed the No. 1 seed, a position she maintained throughout her four years on the team. In her senior year, she led the Women’s Varsity Tennis team to the state finals with an undefeated season. The team finished second, and Karen secured both the No. 1 Singles and Doubles titles at the state tournament.
A 1986 graduate, Karen was awarded the prestigious Athlete of the Year title during her senior year.
Continuing her tennis career in college, she played No. 2 singles and No. 1 doubles at Presbyterian College in South Carolina, where she was ranked among the top 10 doubles players in the nation.
While earning her Master’s in Sports Administration at East Carolina University, Karen began her professional career at Raleigh Racquet Club. At just 24 years old, after only 18 months, she became the Tennis Director at North Hills Club.
Over the next decade, Karen transformed North Hills Club’s tennis program. She created a prominent junior program with over 200 participants and significantly expanded the adult league teams' competitive opportunities. By 2005, when her tenure ended, tennis membership had nearly doubled, making North Hills one of the largest tennis clubs in the South.
Karen’s professional achievements include multiple titles as both a player and a coach. She holds two state doubles championships, a singles title, and the prestigious North Carolina Tennis Pro of the Year award from the US Professional Tennis Association. In 2003, she was honored with the Mary Milman Lifetime Achievement Award by the North Carolina Tennis Association for her contributions to growing the sport in the state.
After 15 successful years in the U.S., Karen extended her tennis expertise to Costa Rica, where she and her husband, Julian, opened The Club at Coco Bay. There, she developed a comprehensive tennis program for the resort, running clinics and offering all-inclusive tennis vacations several months each year. While she continues to compete in tournaments, Karen’s greatest joy comes from sharing her lifelong passion for tennis and building connections with others through the sport.