Words in Memory of John Leonard Davis

The Southern California tennis community lost one of its most iconic members last week, John “JD” Davis. I’d like to pen a few words about my former teammate, tennis peer, partner on court and in crime, and most of all, friend.

As with many of us, I first encountered JD on the indigenous hard courts of Southern California. SoCal junior tourneys were mass mobilization events. Entire cities taken over for weeks at a time, with every playable court available used in furtherance of our dreams, to some day compete on tennis’ grandest stages

But there was one event where all of Southern California came together, that one being the historic Ojai Championships held annually the last weekend of April.

I first saw John as a wide-eyed junior player peering through the fences of Ojai’s Libby Park. A couple years my senior, JD channeled Fast Times at Ridgemont High vibes. Long stringy shocked white hair from too much sun, his skin tanned to a burnt crisp. All that was missing was a VW van, a long board, and a “surfs up dude.”

But JD was chasing a different kind of wave. He was an obscenely talented junior tennis player. Long arms,…