Porfirio Cervantes had an unorthodox introduction to the sport of tennis. The current Assistant Director of Tennis at the Serve It Up Tennis Academy, was first suggested the sport by his high school tennis coach. While this in itself is normal, Porfirio’s athletic pursuits at that point were primarily in the sport of wrestling. Growing…

Sabrina Santamaria’s mother emigrated to Los Angeles from the Philippines, while her father came to Los Angeles from Panama. Both of her parents were tennis players and met playing tennis on public courts in Koreatown in the 1980s. There was absolutely no doubt that Sabrina herself would be a tennis player, and now that she…

In a sport that is constantly working to improve diversity and representation even today, Ricardo Alonso ‘Pancho’ Gonzales was a pioneer for Latino and Hispanic athletes in the early 20th century and left a considerable impact on Southern California tennis for years to come. Gonzales was born in Los Angeles in 1928, to two Mexican…

On September 15, USTA Southern California celebrated its annual Service Awards in Redondo Beach, bestowing numerous honors upon respected and deserving members of the Southern California tennis community. A wide array of diverse and impactful players, coaches, and organizations in the tennis community convened to celebrate a common love of tennis. President of the USTA…

This month, UCLA alum and Southern California tennis stalwart Otis Smith III will be inducted into the Black Tennis Hall of Fame, capping off an incredible career in the sport. While he was born in New York, Otis and his family moved to Los Angeles when he was four years old and lived right down…

Roberto Enrique Perez was born in Los Angeles, in 1924, to naturalized Mexican American parents. At 10 years old in 1934, he stumbled upon tennis when he went to a park wanting to play football but was told that he was too small. Instead, he was handed a tennis racquet, and thus began the decades…

USTA Southern California is proud to recognize Hispanic Heritage Month with a cultural event scheduled for Saturday, September 17 (2pm-6pm) at Barnes Tennis Center in San Diego. The event is open to the public. Celebrating the rich diversity of Hispanic cultures in Southern California, this free cultural tennis event will include kid-zones, wheelchair and adaptive…

In just seven short years, Rosie Casals and her Love & Love Tennis Foundation partner Tory Fretz have tirelessly introduced the sport of tennis to hundreds of Coachella Valley youth, offering scholarship grants and free clinics to the diverse and underserved communities on the outskirts of glamorous nearby cities like La Quinta, Indian Wells, and…

An hour before Serena Williams took to the court for what would turn out to be the final match of her Hall of Fame career at the US Open, Morisa Yang recalled being on the opposite side of the court and facing the all-time great as a young player on the Southern California junior circuit…