Robyn Ray, Millennium Hall of Fame

A late bloomer who never envisioned that self-promotion and junior

tennis would actually hold serve in the same sentence, Robyn Ray is

making up for lost accolades as a senior.

Ray, the best junior player Sacramento had to offer in the early

1960s, was unaware of the requirements seemingly necessary for aspiring

players hoping to catch the eye of, say, the U.S. Junior Davis Cup coach.

“I was a big fish in a small pond in Sacramento,” said Ray, once

ranked No. 3 in Northern California in the boys 18s, before knocking off

the top two players that year (1963) in his division and earning a

scholarship to the University of Arizona.

Ray figured his play alone would warrant sponsorships or U.S. junior

national team consideration, but the phone never rang. Later, he realized

the world of competitive tennis encompassed the entire globe -- or, at

least out of Northern California.

“I didn’t travel outside of Northern California until after college,”

said Ray, who worked two years for an accounting firm out of college, but

felt the tugging of his tennis heart strings and returned to the courts

in 1969.

Prepared to make a comeback and give the professional circuit a shot,

Ray was older than most of his foes. Prize money was low and traveling

accommodations, especially in Europe, were often difficult when Ray

played for wages from 1970 to ’72.

“In Europe, you’d get a hotel room with five other guys, pay five

bucks a night and use one bathroom down the hallway,” Ray said. “It was

tough to break out of that and join the top echelon. The players who were

at the top of the echelon were making money. They’d get their hotel rooms

for free and take limousines, while we’re taking public buses to get to

the tennis clubs. They’re eating steaks and I’m eating cheeseburgers.”

Ray’s traveling companions from Europe and South America were 18, 19

and 21, when he was 25, 26 and 27, and after three years of grind on the

tour and counting every penny for the next day’s cup of coffee, Ray

decided that was enough.

Ray once beat Mark Cox, a former Top-10 player from England, at the

1969 Central California Championships in Sacramento, at the time a huge

tournament featuring players like Arthur Ashe (who won the title in ‘69)

and Alex Olmedo (the 1959 Wimbledon champion).

“That was before the big money,” said Ray, who played at Wimbledon and

the French Open in 1971, and the U.S. Open in ’72.

Ray, however, the longtime director of tennis at the Newport Beach

Marriott Hotel and Tennis Club, would come into his own at age 45.

Today one of the top players in the nation in the 50s and 55s, Ray was

ranked No. 1 in the 45s (singles) in 1993 and ’94 by the United States

Tennis Association, both years capturing the title at the U.S. National

Grass Court Championships in Philadelphia. Ray also won a doubles title

in the 45s at the 1994 U.S. National Indoors in Salt Lake City.

Further, Ray was selected to play on the U.S. Dubler Cup team, an

international competition in the men’s 45s that uses the same format as

the Davis Cup.

In 1994, the Ray-led U.S. squad lost a heartbreaker to Spain in the

championship match in Barcelona, then came back the following year and

won the Dubler Cup in Santiago, Chile.

In 1979 and ‘80, Ray qualified for the U.S. Open 35s, which featured

eight invited players and eight qualifiers. Ray advanced to the

quarterfinals both years, and, shortly thereafter, the USTA changed the

rules, because too many players like Ray were beating the marquee names.

Ray and longtime doubles partner Ken Stuart (Palisades Tennis Club

owner and operator) won several tournaments in California in the 35s,

before Ray stepped away from the competitive surface for awhile and tried

to focus on building a solid program at the Marriott.

When Ray started at the Marriott in November 1975, he was a one-man

show during the sport’s booming years. Today, the club employs five

staffers and is considered one of the top resort tennis clubs in Southern

California.

In 1996 and ‘97, the Marriott played host to the U.S. Women’s

Challenger of Newport Beach, a highly successful tournament on the

Women’s Tennis Association Tour for players not ranked in the Top 50 in

the world. The event, orchestrated by Ray and his wife, Erika, raised

$10,000 for the Dyslexia Foundation. Most stops on the WTA challenger

circuit are fortunate to break even.

“The Marriott has been real supportive of everything,” said Ray, a

Newport Beach resident whose name is synonymous with the club, which has

produced such female notables as Keri Phebus and Alex McGoodwin.

Ray, a crafty left-hander who has been trying to get his game back

into shape while hoping to stay injury-free, won the Pacific Southwest

Senior Championship singles title in the 50s last month at the Palisades

Club.

Playing “up” in the tournament because of his age, Ray wanted to

avenge last year’s semifinal setback to Michael Woiemberghe (Cypress), so

he returned to the 50s division. This time, Ray knocked off Woiemberghe

in the semifinals, 6-3, 6-7, 7-5, on his way to the crown. In the finals,

Ray beat Terry Elhers (San Clemente), 6-0, 6-3.

“I was ready for (Woiemberghe) this year,” Ray said. “I think I won

only one or two more points, but that was the difference.”

Ray, who once witnessed Jimmy Connors arrive at the U.S. Open in

Flushing Meadows, N.Y., via helicopter from his home on Long Island, has

launched himself into superstardom on the senior tennis circuit, and,

today, enters the Daily Pilot Sports Hall of Fame, celebrating the

millennium.

Ray has a stepson, Rick, 24, and a daughter, Amber, 15.