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800 2nd Ave. Click here for maps and directions. |
History
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| The Middletown Tennis & Sports Complex (formerly The Middletown Tennis Club) has had a rich and varied history since its opening day in the early 1930's. Since that time we have been highly involved with our tennis community. We have hosted Middletown City Tournaments, tournaments attended by tennis greats Tony Trabert and Bill Talbert during the 1940's and state high school tournaments. Middletown Tennis & Sports Complex was home to the Jaycees Center Tournament all during the 1960's and 1970's. We have hosted both the National Clay Court Qualifier sponsored by Virginia Slims and the National Qualifier Tournament sponsored by the World Tennis Pro Tour during 1972. During the Virginia Slims Tournament, all players were required to promote MTSC and tennis through the Todd Memorial Fund, and these were some of the top tennis women in the world. We have hosted the Western Open Tournaments in all age divisions. These have been attended by the then junior players Amos Mansdorf, Larry Gottfried, Drew Gitlow, Richard Fromberg and Jimmy Conners. In addition, Billie Jean King (Billie Jean Moffitt at the time) and Nancy Richey (Gunter at that time) participated in events at MTSC. In 1974, we were the smallest city within the National junior Tennis League, competing with Los Angeles, Chicago and New York City. In 1975, we even had Bobby Riggs ("The Hustler") give a tennis clinic here during a Jaycee Center Tournament. We currently host seven U.S.T.A. sanctioned tournaments for players of all ages per year which include the MTSC Adult Grand Prix I, MTSC Adult Grand Prix III, the Annual MTSC Spring Indoor Championship, the Middletown Clay Court Championship, the Middletown Fall Classic, the Ohio Valley Closed Indoor, and the Middletown Junior Christmas Tournament. Clinics, camps, and private lessons are offered throughout the year for members and non members of all levels and ages. We also provide court time for practices and matches for surrounding high school and college teams. Beyond our U.S.T.A. events, which are open to all comers, we host charitable events in support of our community. The Robert Chalmers Todd Memorial Fund is one of our fondest. MTSC has supported Todd Tennis since its inception in 1950. This program was geared toward the grass roots level and developed to provide tennis for children at an introductory stage. Each summer, local children are encouraged to participate in the Todd Memorial Tennis programs at local community parks. All participants are awarded a free one hour tennis lesson for their efforts during the program. Many of these children who were introduced through the Todd Program have gone on to earn district, sectional and National rankings. During the month of February, MTSC donates use of the entire facility to the American Heart Association for their annual "Love Your Heart" Open Tennis Tournament. All proceeds go to the American Heart Association. MTSC also donates court time to the Southern Ohio Wheelchair Tennis Club who practice here regularly and annually hold their regional tournament here in October. MTSC was honored to be named the U.S.T.A. Organization of the Year for the Midwest Section in 1992 - a very prestigious award given to only 19 facilities throughout the country. It is our goal to continue our fine tradition of promoting tennis and fitness and further support of our community for years to come. |