Tennis Fantasies

By Roger Cox

Martina Hingis served up the T to my backhand, and I re-sponded by hitting a nervous return into the net.

“If I’d served that hard on the tour,” she said, “I’d have won more tournaments.”

My doubles partner at the time, former touring pro Wendy Turnbull, who had herself missed a service return, didn’t quite buy it. Looking across the net at Hingis, she quipped: “You would if you had had more opponents like us.”

Over the course of the two-day Tennis Smash event, a fundraiser for the Tim & Tom Gullikson Foundation held at Ocean Edge Resort & Golf Club on Cape Cod in Massachusetts, I was on court not only with Turnbull and Hingis, but also with former World No. 1 Stan Smith and French Open Champion Francoise Durr. I had dinner at a table with Stefan Edberg one night and Pancho Segura another. And I had my photo taken with all these tennis greats and more—among them Rod Laver, Tom Gullikson and Gardnar Mulloy. I also took home a bag of loot filled with an adidas warmup suit and hooded sweatshirt, Gullikson Found-ation T-shirts, Jaguar logo golf balls, and Dewar’s scotch. 

Welcome to a tennis fantasy getaway. Virtually every month of the year, some kind of event takes place that puts you “up close and personal” with a big name in professional tennis. Some, like the Tennis Smash event that I attended, are fundraisers for charitable foundations with a format that may include clinics, pro-am competitions, exhibitions, silent auctions, gala dinners, and often, merchandise donated by corporate sponsors and more. Others are classic tennis camps, sometimes with a single pro, sometimes with an entire team.

The following is a seasonal calendar of the best-known of these events, along with a brief description and sources for more information.

SPRING 

Tennis Fantasies with John Newcombe and the Legends
New Braunfels, Texas 

During this three-day festival at the John Newcombe Tennis Ranch, former World No. 1 John Newcombe gathers his mates Roy Emerson, Owen Davidson and Ross Case for a program of clinics, coached match play (doubles and mixed), team practices, strategy sessions, exhibition matches, pro-am doubles, group meals and no small amount of evening celebrating, Aussie style.

Date: March 2–5, 2006
Information: 800-874-7788 or www.tennisfantasies.net

Antigua Tennis Week, Curtain Bluff
Antigua, West Indies

Each May, Fred Stolle, Ross Case, Owen Davidson and Kathy Rinaldi join Curtain Bluff’s Head Pro Rennie George, for a full week of stroke and strategy clinics, pro doubles exhibitions, prize-rich tournaments, cocktail parties and general socializing—all at about half the cost of a normal week at this 72-room Caribbean resort.

Date: May 1–8, 2005
Information: 888-289-9898 or www.curtainbluff.com

Ladies Weekend Camp, Brenda Schultz Tennis and Sports Camp
Ferrum, Virginia

This year, one-time top 10 player Brenda Schultz-McCarthy has recruited her former coach Juan Nunez (who also coached Gabriella Sabatini and Arantxa Sanchez-Vicario) to participate in 12 hours of instruction, video analysis, gourmet meals, winery trips and more. All of this, including lodging, takes place on Schultz-McCarthy’s 360-acre spread in the Blue Ridge Mountains.

Dates: May 13–15,2005
(NTRP Levels 3.0–3.5)
May 20–22, 2005
(NTRP Level 4.0)

Information: 276-930-1916 or www.brendaschultztennis.com

Men’s Legends Camp, Brenda Schultz Tennis and Sports Camp
Ferrum, Virginia 

For this year’s Men’s Legends Camp at her Blue Ridge property, Schultz-Mc-Carthy drafted a team of former touring pros consisting of Johan Kriek, Luke and Murphy Jensen, and Gene Mayer. They not only give 12 hours of clinics, but also dine with campers and participate in the off-court activities, including boat trips, trout fishing, canoeing and more.

Date: April 29–May 1, 2005
Information: 276-930-1916 or www.brendaschultztennis.com

SUMMER

Dennis Ralston Premier & Family Camps
Colorado Springs, Colorado

International Tennis Hall of Famer Dennis Ralston personally runs the three-hour group clinics each morning, imparting the same coaching expertise he used with Chris Evert, Yannick Noah and the U.S. Davis Cup team. He’s assisted by former touring pro Sharon Walsh and the Broadmoor teaching staff.

Dates: selected weekends in May, June, July, August, September 2005
Information: 800-634-7711 or www.broadmoor.com

Roy Emerson Tennis Weeks
Gstaad, Switzerland

For more than 30 years, Roy Emerson, International Tennis Hall of Fame member and winner of 26 Grand Slam titles, has been drawing campers to the Palace Hotel in Gstaad, Switzerland, for a week of solid tennis instruction, fine food, witty conversation, picnics in the mountains, and Emmo’s never-ending stock of amusing stories and anecdotes.

Dates: six-day sessions in June, July andSeptember, beginning June 12, 2005
Information: 949-644-6505 or www.royemersontennisweeks.com

Tennis Smash,
Brewster, Massachusetts

Scheduled for the week immediately following the International Tennis Hall of Fame inductions, this fundraiser for the Tim & Tom Gullikson Foundation at the Ocean Edge Resort & Golf Club on Cape Cod headlines Tom Gullikson and an always stellar cast of pros encouraged to stay on a few days following the Newport ceremonies. As this article goes to press, plans for 2005 have not been finalized.

Tentative Date: July 11–12, 2005
Tickets and Information: 888-GULLIKSON or www.gulliksonfoundation.org

Mount Washington Fantasy Tennis Camps and Weekends
Bretton Woods, New Hampshire 

The Mount Washington Resort at Bretton Woods, original site of the Volvo International Tennis Tourna-ment, is staging a pair of tennis camps, which will variously feature Tom Gullikson, Johan Kriek, Mikael Pernfors and Tim Mayotte along with resort pro Tom Over, on its 12 red clay courts this summer. Both camps include instructional clinics, round robins, courtside lunches with the pros, exhibitions and demonstrations.

Dates: July 18–20 (Gullikson,Pernfors); August 15–17 (Kriek, Mayotte) 2005
Information: 603-278-8912 or www.mtwashington.com

FALL

Mercedes-Benz/MaliVai Washington Golf and Tennis Gala
Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida

Now in its ninth year, this two-day event raises money for the MaliVai Washington Kids Foundation. It begins Monday evening with a cocktail dinner and live and silent auctions at the Marriott Sawgrass, and then continues on Tuesday with tennis and golf pro-ams. In past years, Wimbledon finalist Washington has been joined by former touring pros Todd Martin, Brian Gott-fried and others as well as celebrities from sports and television.

Date: September 12–13, 2005
Tickets and Information: 904-301-3786 or www.malwashington.com/events_golften.html

Tennis Fantasies with John Newcombe and the Legends
New Braunfels, Texas

This October, almost 100 guys (this is a men’s-only event) are expected to show up at the John Newcombe Tennis Ranch for four-plus days of non-stop tennis, merciless ribbing, world-class coaching, colorful stories, and partying and entertaining with a stellar cast of tennis greats. In addition to former World No. 1 New-combe, Fred Stolle, Mal Anderson, Roy Emerson, Marty Riessen, Guillermo Vilas, Owen Davidson, Mark Woodforde, Charlie Pasarell, Ross Case, Dick Stockton and Manuel Santana will be on hand.

Date: October 16–21, 2005
Information: 800-874-7788 or www.tennisfantasies.net

Swingtime Pro-Am Tennis  & Golf Tournament
Florida

Another benefit for the Tim & Tom Gullikson Foundation, Swingtime combines pro-am tennis and golf tournaments with a tennis exhibition, gala dinner (featuring a celebrity at every table), silent and open auctions, entertainment, and prizes and gift bags from such sponsors as Nike, Wilson, Rado and JetBlue. Past participants include Venus and Serena Williams, Jennifer Capriati, Jim Courier, Mardy Fish, James Blake, Todd Martin, Robby Ginepri and Corinna Morariu. The exact venue in Florida should be announced soon.

Date: November 19–20, 2005
Tickets and Information: 561-394-9190 or www.chevents.com

Thanksgiving with Stan Smith
Hilton Head Island, South Carolina

Join long-time Sea Pines Resort Tour-ing Pro Stan Smith for a special Stan Smith Tennis Academy at the Sea Pines Racquet Club. In addition to 12 hours of instruction from the Wimbledon and US Open champion, you will be treated to a welcoming party, Friday evening feast at Stan’s home and an exhibition that last year featured Stan and his eldest son Ramsey, who played No. 1 for Duke, against the winners of an island-wide open tournament.

Date: November 23–26, 2005
Information: 843-363-4495 or www.seapines.com

WINTER 

Chris Evert/Bank of America Pro-Celebrity Tennis Classic
Boca Raton, Florida

For 16 years, former World No. 1 Chris Evert has brought together celebrities from politics, entertainment, business and tennis for two days of instruction, drills, round-robins, a cocktail reception, dinner and silent auction—all to raise money for several charities dedicated to preventing drug abuse and child neglect or helping at-risk children and their families. Tennis activities take place at the nearby Delray Beach Tennis Center, while dinner and entertainment—which in 2004 featured Sheena Easton—is staged at the Boca Raton Resort & Club.

Date: December 2–4, 2005
Tickets and Information: 561-394-2400 or www.chrisevert.org

Mark Knowles Celebrity Tennis Invitational
Paradise Island, Bahamas  

Now in its fifth year, this fundraiser for numerous Bahamian charities and promising players stages pro-am clinics, a celebrity tournament, a cocktail re-ception and junior banquet at the Atlantis Paradise Island Resort & Casino. Last year, the No. 1 ranked doubles team of Mark Knowles and Daniel Nestor were joined by Scott Davis, Todd Martin, Fred Stolle, Tom Gullikson, Robby Ginepri, Xavier Malisse, Mark Merklein and Serena Williams.

Date: December 2–3, 2005
Tickets and Information: 242-324-6704 or www.geocities.com/Betty_online/invitationalmark.html

So if you have your own tennis fantasy, opportunities to pursue it are everywhere, whether just for fun or to benefit a charitable cause. As for Wendy Turnbull and I: If Martina Hingis returns to the tour, we can say we had a role in restoring her confidence.

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