By Mitch Abramson
For more than 50 years the United States Open was the club's crown jewel, and once a year parents would take their children to watch John McEnroe, Jimmy Connors and Billie Jean King.
But the club became a victim of its own success and the stadium couldn't contain the crowds who flocked there every year, so the United States Tennis Association moved the US Open to Flushing Meadows in 1978. Tennis fans and reporters followed, leaving the West Side Tennis Club to its members, all too happy to reclaim the courts and parking spots.
To a larger extent, the club was left in the past. Last year marked the first time since 1989 that pro tennis returned to Forest Hills. The USTA has awarded the West Side Tennis Club three professional tournaments this year, starting with the Forest Hills Tennis Classic from May 8 to May 15, a warm-up to the French Open, and a men's Challenger event worth $50,000.
Following those tournaments will be a second men's Challenger on grass from June 5 to June 12 and ending with a hard-court women's tournament Aug. 21 through Aug. 28 with $65,000 in tune-up money for the US Open.
“I think that some people haven't heard of the Forest Hills Tennis Club in some time,” said Dina Ingersole, tournament director for the Forest Hills Clay Court Tennis Classic, now in its second year. “That will hopefully change.”
Organizers hope the extra scheduling will add a little fanfare to a place once considered the heart of tennis in New York.
“It's time to bring the fans back,” Ingersole said. “Recently I've been getting calls from people who were ball boys way back when or used to sneak under the fence to watch the tennis when they were kids. We're happy to welcome these fans back. Hopefully, they'll pay this time.”
The West Side Tennis Club is trying a more softer, community-minded approach to professional tennis this time, starting with letting fans in for free to see the Forest Hills Tennis Classic from May 10 to May 13 and charging $10 for the semis and finals on Friday and Saturday. The Fund for the City of New York will bring underprivileged kids to the tournament to be ball-runners, and the West Side Tennis Club will provide internships and seminars in return.
Also, on May 13 Jim Courier and Patrick McEnroe are playing a tennis exhibition for the Vitas Gerulaitis Youth Foundation to provide programs for junior tennis players from Queens and Long Island.
For those hoping to cheer on a local boy, Don Lamonaca, 57, of Forest Hills, lost in the semis of the Wildcard Pre-Qualifying Tournament for members to 14-year-old and eventual champion Haig Schneiderman of Manhattan, 6-3, 6-3. Lamonaca, who runs the Community School for Comprehensive Education for pregnant teens in Brooklyn, is happy to see professional tennis returning to Forest Hills.
Lamonaca said membership has dwindled. He once led players such as John McEnroe and Vitas Gerulaitis from the clubhouse to the playing courts at the height of the Open.
“The great part about the US Open was that you had all these stars mingling and drinking with the members (at Forest Hills),” he said. “It got a little commercialized with the corporations getting more involved, but maybe with professional tennis back at the club, things will be exciting again.”
Reach reporter Mitch Abramson by e-mail at news@timesledger.com or by phone at 718-229-0300, Ext. 130.
