I had the good fortune of being Director of Tennis from 1979-1981. Bob Ayres was our Assistant Pro and Mike Sterling was the stringer. May they forever rest in peace. They were good men. Very funny and totally committed to the amazing sport of tennis. Both veterans. Bob from Vietnam and Mike from WWII.
Many good times enjoying the Friday Afternoon Club parties in the summer with a great foursome playing to live bands in Anthony’s gardens on court 8.
Jay Birch and I set a personal record of 1780 consecutive hits in one rally. Out goal was to count how many in a row we could hit. We would do that for 90 minutes during the festivities.
Theo Mandel was the first Head Pro. His assistant was Malcom Campbell. The first ever set won at the club was Malcom defeating Theo 7-5.
Today, my granddaughters have learned to love the game through their involvement with the RMTC. Its very very sad to me that this iconic tennis oasis is closing.