Tennis: Senior tennis tour coming back to Newport Beach

Richard Dunn

The Champions Tour on the worldwide men’s senior tennis circuit is

returning to Newport Beach, only this time at Newport Beach Tennis Club.

Club owner Steve Joyce said John McEnroe is a “definite” to play in

the event, billed as the Newport Beach Champions, May 9-13.

In June 1998, The Challenge was held at the Palisades Tennis Club in

Newport Beach, but Palisades owner/operator Ken Stuart said he declined

an offer to host the Newport Beach Champions.

“Our experience with people other than Russ Cline has been less than

ideal,” Stuart said, referring to the promoter of the April 1997 Davis

Cup event at Palisades, which received generally favorable reviews.

RHB Ventures, the same company which promotes The Challenge (now

played in Rancho Bernardo), operates the regular stops on the worldwide

men’s senior tennis tour, which the Newport Beach Champions will be a

part of.

The Newport Beach Tennis Club, which hosted a U.S.-versus-South Africa

Davis Cup tie in 1977, agreed to a three-year contract with RHB Ventures

to host the Newport Beach Champions, the second-to-last stop on the 2001

senior circuit calendar.

Members of the tour, which includes points-leader McEnroe, will play

at the Raleigh Champions in Raleigh, N.C., the week prior to the Newport

Beach Champions.

“I’d like to have it here every year. I think it’s good for the tennis

community,” said Joyce, who officially signed the three-year contract on

Friday.

In terms of logistics, Joyce said he didn’t know if tournament

promoters will need to reconstruct portions of the club’s center court,

which has cement bleachers on both sides, but was built more than 30

years ago.

The Newport Beach Tennis Club, however, will add stadium bleachers to

hold between 4,000 and 5,000 fans.

The event will be televised by Fox and shown later on tape.

Newport Beach Tennis Club head professional Scott Davis will play in

the event as a wild card.

Joyce said McEnroe, Henri Leconte, Pat Cash and Yannick Noah are

scheduled to play in the Newport Beach Champions.

“Jimmy Connors is up in the air and I think Bjorn Borg’s up in the

air,” Joyce said.

Stuart said he hasn’t ruled out hosting another Davis Cup tie or a

future Fed Cup match, possibly with Palisades member Lindsay Davenport.

But the proposed tennis stadium expected to be built in Carson will

probably put an end to small venues, such as Newport Beach, hosting a

major tennis tournament.

Still, the event in May wasn’t in the Palisades Club’s best interest,

Stuart said.

“I don’t mean to dilute (the Newport Beach Champions in May), but I

don’t think my members look at it as something real special,” Stuart

said. “We’re at full capacity here with our membership and what we have

to be concerned about is what’s best for them. (Hosting a major tennis

event) is lower on the totem pole.”

For the Newport Beach Tennis Club, which has enjoyed a membership

renaissance the past year under Joyce’s ownership, it could be a perfect

scenario for the coming decade.

The Newport Beach Tennis Club will host its second annual Super Bowl

Celebrity Pro-Am Tennis Tournament Jan. 27-28. Action will take place the

day before the Super Bowl and the pro-am finals will be played prior to

kickoff on Super Bowl Sunday. Details: (949) 644-0050.