The SCTA Hall of Fame Induction Gala is approaching, scheduled for Sunday, October 1 at Hyatt Regency Huntington Beach Resort & Spa. The hotel has opened a block of rooms specifically for Hall of Fame guests, at a rate of $285/night. The special rate is available by clicking here. Act fast, as rooms are very limited!

Haven’t got tickets yet? Reserve yours by visiting here. 

And don’t forget the Hall of Fame Program Book. The deadline for ad space is approaching – support our Class of 2017 inductees by taking out a quarter, half, or full page ad! Click here for Program Book information. 

Eleven-time Grand Slam and two-time US Open champion Rod Laver highlights Class of 2017 inductees to Southern California Tennis Association’s Hall of Fame. The Hall of Fame Induction Gala will take place on Sunday, October 1 at Hyatt Regency Huntington Beach Resort & Spa, in Huntington Beach, California. Previous inductees include Billie Jean King, Tracy Austin, Michael Chang, and Pancho Gonzalez.

The Australian-born Laver, a longtime resident of Carlsbad, Calif., won 200 singles titles during his illustrious career, plus 6 Grand Slam doubles championships. Twice winning all four Grand Slams in a calendar year (the only male player in history to accomplish the feat), “Rocket” Rod Laver is often considered the premier talent of his time, if not the entirety of tennis lore. He was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame in 1981.

Other Class of 2017 honorees include:

• Jim & Annette Buck, long a part of Southern California’s tennis tapestry, were awarded the USRTA Brad Parks Award in 2010 and USTA Ralph W. Westcott Family of the Year in 1985. Jim, a former USC Men’s Tennis captain, has enjoyed a successful career as coach and mentor, from US Wheelchair World Team Cup to Junior Davis Cup and the US Men’s Italia Cup team. He was awarded the SCTA Lifetime Achievement Award in 1993. Annette is a former ranked junior player who captained Girls 18s for many years before joining SCTA staff for more than 30 years.
• Herb Flam led UCLA to its first-ever NCAA team championship. He was the first Bruin tennis player to capture individual NCAA titles in both singles and doubles in the same year. He was ranked in the World Top 10 four times and appeared in nine Grand Slam quarterfinals.
• Debbie Graham Shaffer ranked as high as #5 in World doubles and #35 in singles. A former Stanford standout and member of the school’s athletic Hall of Fame, Graham-Shaffer has served as a “High Performance Coach” for women with the USTA at the Training Center in Carson, and is currently the Director of Little Aces Tennis.
• William “Bill” Kellogg graduated from Dartmouth as a four-year letterman in tennis. He served as co-chair of the USTA Davis Cup and Fed Cup Committee, and on the Board of Directors of USTA Southern California since 1982. Kellogg is a member of the ITF’s Seniors Committee and the International Tennis Hall of Fame’s International Advisory Board, and served five years as President of the San Diego District Tennis Association and four years as President of Youth Tennis San Diego.
• Robert “Bob” Kramer is a former Executive Director of SCTA, and Tournament Director for the ATP Men’s professional event in Los Angeles. A former junior competitor for Pierce College, Kramer was awarded the SCTA Lifetime Achievement Award in 2013.
• Helen Pastall Perez was ranked in the World Top 10 in 1949, and was a quarterfinalist in the US Nationals in 1949 and 1953. She won the prestigious Pacific Southwest Championships in 1949 and 1950. In subsequent years, Pastall Perez taught tennis at the Los Angeles Tennis Club, where she developed a celebrity clientele and conducted clinics for underprivileged youth.
• Bobby Riggs was most notable for his role in the “Battle of the Sexes” with Billie Jean King, provoking awareness of gender equality in the game. Riggs reached his first Grand Slam final at the French Open in 1939, and became the World No. 1 amateur player after winning the singles, doubles and mixed-doubles titles at Wimbledon in 1939. In 1961 he was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame.
• Stella Sampras-Webster is a four-time All-American for UCLA, only the second player in school history to attain this status. She completed her UCLA career ranked No. 3 nationally in doubles and No. 42 in singles, and returned to campus as the Women’s head coach in 1995, compiling an impressive overall record of 383-143 (.728) coming into the current season.
• Ken Stuart is a former NCAA All American at Long Beach State University, and competed in the US Open, Wimbledon, and Australian Open during his career. Stuart played World Team Tennis for the L.A. Strings, San Diego Friars, and Florida Flamingos. In Southern California, he has operated four tennis clubs and currently owns and operates Palisades Tennis Club.
• Henry Talbert, a life-long tennis player with a game developed on public park courts, first began working for the USTA in 1974, and became the first African-American to be a USTA administrator on the national level. In 1997, he was named the SCTA Executive Director. He is an inductee to the Black Tennis Hall of Fame. The Henry Talbert Junior Championships and Talbert Summer Tennis Grant are both named in his honor.