News

La Jolla, Calif. — The La Jolla Beach & Tennis Club, one of California’s most treasured beachfront resorts for more than 75 years, will host the United States Tennis Association (USTA) National Senior Women’s Hard Court Tennis Championships on Monday, May 9 through Sunday, May 15. This tournament is the first or second leg of the national tournament circuit in each age group. Every age group has national championships played on three other surfaces: clay, grass and indoors. Events offered at this week’s tournament will include both singles and doubles in the 50 and over, 60 and over, 70 and over, 80 and over, and 90 and over age groups.

The La Jolla Beach & Tennis Club’s 39th Annual Spring Senior Championships for men will also take place in conjunction with the women’s event. Although the USTA men’s events are not national championships, they will feature many senior players who regularly compete in national tournaments. The men’s events will include singles and doubles for 60 and over, 65 and over, 70 and over, 75 and over, 80 and over, and 85 and over age groups.

“While players at the professional level and in the younger age groups may rely on speed and power, the senior players tend to use more finesse and strategy to set up winning points in their matches,” said Bill Kellogg, tournament director. “It is going to be a fantastic week of senior tennis. I invite those who want to watch vintage senior tennis at its best, to come to the La Jolla Beach & Tennis Club.”

One of the notable players entered in this year’s tournament is La Jolla’s Dorothy “Dodo” Cheney, who is the top seed in the women’s 90 and over division. Cheney, who was born in 1916, has captured more than 380 national championships. In 1938, she became the first American woman to win the Australian Championships. Cheney is a member of the International Tennis Hall of Fame.

The USTA National Senior Women’s Hard Court Tennis Championships attract the best players from all over the country in each age group, making this field of competitors the strongest in the country in each age division. The La Jolla Beach & Tennis Club started each of these events and has hosted them since inception. The men’s events began in the early 1970s and have been held at the Club ever since.

Admission to this week-long tournament is free and open to the public with a snack bar and dining facility on-site. On-site parking is available for a nominal fee. Daily matches will start at 8 a.m.

For complete tournament draws, go here.

Named “Club of the Year” for 2011 by the San Diego District Tennis Association, the La Jolla Beach & Tennis Club is designated one of the “Top 25 Tennis Resorts” by Tennis Resorts Online. In addition to hosting the USTA National Senior Women’s Hard Court Tennis Championships, the La Jolla Beach & Tennis Club also hosts the USTA National Men’s & Women’s 40 & Over Hard Courts, and the USTA National Father & Son Hard Court Championships, scheduled for November 28 – December 4, 2011.

The La Jolla Beach & Tennis Club has also been home to the Pacific Coast Men’s Doubles Championships since 1942. The Annual Pacific Coast Men’s Doubles Championship is one of the five-oldest tennis events in the world and has a rich tournament history. First held in 1890 at The Hotel Del Monte in Monterey, California, the event was created to promote the sale of real estate on the Monterey peninsula. The original concept pitted the best players from the East versus those from the West. This coast to coast rivalry was the inspiration for the Davis Cup. Past winners of the Pacific Coast Men’s Doubles Championship include Jack Kramer, Ted Schroeder, Bobby Riggs, Pancho Segura, Don Budge, Tony Trabert, Stan Smith, Bob Lutz, Arthur Ashe, Dennis Ralston, John McEnroe, and many other world-class champions. This last March, Bradley Klahn and Ryan Thacher of Stanford teamed to capture the 2011 Championship.

The Club also hosted the 2008 Fed Cup, and was also the proud host of the 2006 Davis Cup First Round Tie between the United States and Romania.

About the La Jolla Beach & Tennis Club, Inc.

One of California’s most treasured beachfront resorts for more than 75 years, the La Jolla Beach & Tennis Club is a fourth-generation, family-owned and operated company dedicated to the operation of a 14-acre beachside resort. The resort includes three properties, including the exclusive La Jolla Beach & Tennis Club, the 128-room La Jolla Shores Hotel and landmark Marine Room restaurant. Resort amenities include 14 championship tennis courts, a nine-hole Par-3 golf course, two swimming pools, two additional oceanfront restaurants and cocktail lounges, and one of Southern California’s only private beaches. For more information visit ljbtc.com.