Eight Legends to be Inducted Following Farmers Classic Presented by Mercedes-Benz
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
July 13, 2011
LOS ANGELES - Billie Jean King headlines the eight-member induction class of 2011 for the Southern California Tennis Association Hall of Fame. The ceremony on Aug. 5 will close the two-week period of tennis activity in LA for the Farmers Classic, presented by Mercedes-Benz, and will take place at the Four Seasons Hotel in Beverly Hills.
Joining King, a member of the International Tennis Hall of Fame, in the SCTA Hall will be past SCTA and USTA President, Franklin Johnson; together with fellow players Dorothy Head Knode, Pat Canning Todd, Kathy Mae Fritz and Hugh Stewart along with coaches Billy Martin and Dick Leach of NCAA championship teams and long-time tennis administrator.
The induction ceremony will take place just days after the 85h annual Farmers Classic is held July 25-31 at the LA Tennis Center on UCLA's campus featuring ATP World Tour stars Juan Martin del Potro, Mardy Fish, Fernando Gonzalez, Marcos Baghdatis, James Blake, Lleyton Hewitt, Dmitry Tursunov, Janko Tipsarevic, Xavier Malisse and Kei Nishikori, among others who are scheduled to play.
The eight being honored this year will join the 62 previously inducted members of the Hall of Fame. Below is a look at the Class of 2011:
Billie Jean King is one of the founders of the Women's Tennis Association (WTA), World Team Tennis and The Women's Sports Foundation. On the court, she won 67 singles and 101 doubles titles, including a record total of 39 Grand Slam titles.
Franklin Johnson is the current Chairman of the Farmers Classic, and a former President of both the SCTA and the USTA. He remains active in the sport as a Vice President of the ITF, with roles on numerous committees and boards from the SCTA and USTA to the ITF and International Tennis Hall of Fame. One of his greatest accomplishments was leading the successful effort to rename the USTA National Tennis Center in New York after Bill Jean King.
Dorothy Head Knode played in the 1940s and 50s and was ranked in the top 10 many of those years, including reaching a career high of No. 5 in the world. She reached the final of the French Open in 1955 and 1957.
Pat Canning Todd is best known for her four Grand Slam championships, including the 1947 French Open singles crown as well as two in women's doubles, and one in mixed doubles. Todd was ranked as high as No. 4 in the world.
Kathy May Fritz once ranked No. 8 on the women's pro tour in the late 1970s. Fritz reached the quarterfinals at the French Open twice and the US Open once. She was a fixture in the top 20 on the women's tour for many years and has been winning USTA National senior championships eve since.
Billy Martin was an NCAA singles champion and has been on coaching staff of the UCLA men's tennis team for 27 years. As a player, he reached the Wimbledon singles quarterfinals in 1977 and was selected ATP Rookie of the Year. As the head coach for the past 18 years, he has compiled a record of 383-79 (.829). In 2005, he led the Bruins to the NCAA championship.
Dick Leach, himself an All-American player at USC, spent 23 years as Trojan's men's tennis coach, winning three NCAA championships and seven conference titles. He boasted an overall record of 529-133 (.799). Leach was inducted into the Collegiate Tennis Hall of Fame in 2003.
Hugh Stewart was an NCAA champion at USC, winning the doubles title in 1951 and the singles title in 1952. A member of the US Davis Cup team, he advanced to the Round of 16 in singles at both Wimbledon and the US Open and was the 1952 Farmers Classic doubles champion.
SCTA Hall of Fame ticket information is available by contacting Martha Katsufrakis by email at [email protected] or by phone at (310) 208-3838, ext 238. All proceeds will benefit the Youth Tennis Foundation, which is the Association's charitable arm to support junior tennis in Southern California.
Additional information about the Hall of Fame, including a listing of all previous inductees, can be found at the SCTA website.
The Farmers Classic, presented by Mercedes-Benz, is an Olympus US Open Series and ATP World Tour event. It will once again be played to benefit the programs of the Southern California Tennis Association. In 2010, the tournament and associated special events raised more than $500,000 for the SCTA and other charities.
Season tickets, mini-plans and individual sessions for the 85th annual Farmers Classic presented by Mercedes-Benz are on sale now. Tickets for the whole week or through Ticketmaster. More information can be found at www.FarmersClassic.com/Tickets or by calling (310) 824 -1010 ext. 251.
ABOUT THE FARMERS CLASSIC PRESENTED BY MERCEDES-BENZ
The Farmers Classic, presented by Mercedes-Benz, has been played every year since 1927, making it the longest-running annual professional sporting event in Los Angeles. Played since 1984 at the LA Tennis Center on the campus of UCLA, the tournament is part of the Olympus US Open Series, the six-week summer tennis season linking 10 ATP World Tour and Sony Ericsson WTA Tour events to the US Open, culminating each week with back-to-back men's and womens finals every Sunday afternoon. Players battle for $40 million, including a chance for bonus prize money at the US Open. Proceeds from the Farmers Classic Presented by Mercedes-Benz benefit the grassroots programs of the non-profit Southern California Tennis Association (SCTA) and UCLA. The SCTA offers programs, leagues, and tournaments involving 300,000 juniors and 50,000 adults and seniors. Information on tickets and the tournament can be found at www.FarmersClassic.com or by calling 310-824-1010.
ABOUT FARMERS INSURANCE GROUP OF COMPANIES
Farmers Insurance Group of Companies is the country's third-largest insurer of both private Personal Lines passenger automobile and homeowners insurance, and also provides a wide range of other insurance and financial services products. Farmers is proud to serve 10 million households with more than 20 million individual policies across all 50 states through the efforts of over 50,000 exclusive and independent agents and nearly 24,000 employees.
Farmers is a trade name and may refer to Farmers Group, Inc. or the Farmers Exchanges, as the case may be. Farmers Group, Inc., a management and holding company, along with its subsidiaries, is wholly owned by the Zurich Financial Services Group. The Farmers Exchanges are three reciprocal
insurers (Farmers Insurance Exchange, Fire Insurance Exchange and Truck Insurance Exchange), including their subsidiaries and affiliates, owned by their policyholders, and managed by Farmers Group, Inc. and its subsidiaries. For more information about Farmers, visit our Web site at www.farmers.com or at www.Facebook.com/FarmersInsurance.