Long Island Tennis Pro’s Dream Comes True

“Vilas go to court one, Wade go to court four, Connors … I will have a court for you in a minute …” There I was, a local Long Island tennis pro telling some of the legends of tennis what to do as we all raised money for a worthy cause. My journey to being the tournament director of the Alan King Pro-Am Tennis Tournament started when the president of Wildwood Pool and Tennis Club, my former club, Michael Korff called and asked if this was something I’d be interested in helping him and his wife Brenda attain. Morris S. Levy, host of the event, wanted to bring the event to Great Neck where Alan King, famed comedian, beloved actor and passionate tennis fan, was a local resident and philanthropist.

Running a legends tennis event has always been a dream of mine, and something I had written on my “goal board” and this was going to be my opportunity. I got chills as I told my father that I would be meeting and working with 24 former Grand Slam champions, many of whom we had watched and envied together on so many occasions. As a player and coach, I have had a lot of interesting moments in tennis, but nothing compared to helping organize the Alan King Pro-Am Tennis Tournament, and having my father at the event as a spectator and sharing in this together.

The first year the event came to Long Island, it was held at the Wildwood Pool and Tennis Club. Morris S. Levy hosted the event and helped secure the pro tennis players, Michael and Brenda Korff organized the event, including securing some great sponsors, and I helped in the organizational process, as well as serving as tournament director. The event was played to benefit The American Cancer Society and Hadassah’s Moshe Sharett Institute of Oncology. We ended up with 23 instead of 24 former Grand Slam champions, as the night before, we were informed that one of our players would be unable to attend due to the fact that they were in the finals of the Huggie Bear Tournament in the Hamptons. The other pros were so understanding and gracious and one of our amateurs was fortunate enough to be paired with a different pro each round, rather than one pro for the day. The event was unbelievable, in the end, with our host Morris S. Levy winning the event as he was paired up with Mark Woodforde.

The second year of the event, I was called about six weeks prior and informed that the club was to be moved and was unable to host the tournament. I went to the board of directors at Wildwood Pool and Tennis Club and was able to convince them to allow the club to once again be used for the event. Peter Fishbach, the tournament chairman, secured some amazing former champions and Morris S. Levy was again the perfect host. The event had an unexpected guest appearance by Jimmy Connors who took photographs, signed autographs and even hit with some of our lucky benefactors. The event was played to raise money for the Wheelchair Sports Federation. Dylan Levine, the top-ranked junior wheelchair player in the country put on an exhibition with Andres Gomez.
In two years, we have had a mix of tennis legends, such as Carling Bassett, Rosie Casals, Owen Davidson, Eddie Dibbs, Jimmy Connors, Guillermo Vilas, Virginia Wade, Lori McNeil, Jimmy Arias, Peter Fleming, Gigi Fernandez, Mark Woodforde, Robert Seguso, Aaron Krickstein, Gene Mayer, Dick Stockton, Luke and Murphy Jensen, Bob Lutz, Johan Kriek, David Wheaton, Roy Emerson, Brian Gottfried, Tim Mayotte, Rick Leach, Ilana Kloss, Christo Van Resberg, Ross Case and Marty Riessen.

This year’s event will be held Sunday, Aug. 29 at the Shelter Rock Tennis Club, the day prior to the 2010 U.S. Open. For any questions, please e-mail Peter Fishbach at p.fishbach@yahoo.com.

The concept of the event is to team top-ranked players up with local tennis enthusiasts and amateurs to raise money for a local charity. There are opportunities to mingle with the pros, take photographs and autographs, and watch some of the most amazing tennis players in history up close and personal.

It is a great event for everyone involved, but for me, it is also a dream come true.

Rosie Casals, Virginia Wade, Gene Mayer, Rick Leach and Peter Fleming take part in the 2009 Alan King Pro-Am Tennis Tournament

Jimmy Connors and Guillermo Vilas pause for a photo at last year’s Alan King Pro-Am Tennis Tournament