It All Started in Beverly Hills

The Beverly Hills Tennis Club I started to play tennis around the age of 12. My Dad loved to play tennis and he started to teach me to play. We lived at the time in Los Angeles, near the Beverly Hills Tennis Club. As a kid I used to wonder why Dad liked to play tennis so much. Mom was a great swimmer, but did not play tennis. Father had been taught tennis by Lee Born at TC Campo Marzio in Lugano, Switzerland. (Click Here to read of my later adventures at the same club…) Father was a talented player and he played interclub matches for Lugano in the 1940’s. I remember he told me of the tricks the Swiss Italians used when playing against Swiss German teams. The rivalry between Swiss Italians and Swiss Germans was immense. In those days, some of the matches were played at the Villa Castagnola tennis courts nearby. Just next to the courts was the luxurious Villa Castagnola Hotel. Gorgeous Gussie was a favorite partner of my father. The Swiss Italians arranged for a young lady to appear in front of a hotel window, whenever a Swiss German player was facing in her direction,…