By Kathryn Reed

Zephyr Cove Tennis Club will be hosting its first national tournament next week – the USTA National Husband Wife Hard Court Championships.

Each year there are four main husband-wife events played on a different surface: hardcourt, grass, clay and indoors. And like the pros, if a couple were to win them all, it would be a grand slam.

It’s open to any level, though most have a 5.0 or 5.5 rating. The actual categories are combined ages of 100, 120 and 140. More than 50 people have signed up for the Sept. 11-17 tournament. They are coming from as far away as Massachusetts and Florida.

Sheryl and Hersh Herschman, who live part time at the lake and part time in the Palm Springs area, are running the tournament. They are founders of the annual Tahoe Tennis Classic that is played at ZCTC, which is now run by the nonprofit that operates those six courts. For the last three years the Herschmans have run the national father-daughter and mother-son tournaments at Springs Country Club in Rancho Mirage.

“I love Lake Tahoe and wanted to bring these people up here,” Sheryl Herschman told Lake Tahoe News.

These tournaments don’t change locations every year, so in many ways this is quite a coup for the Herschmans as well as Zephyr Cove Tennis Club and all of Lake Tahoe.

If all goes well, the Herschmans hope the husband-wife tourney is a regular fall event on the South Shore.

“USTA national tournaments are the only ones that the USTA awards the gold ball to the champions, silver ball to finalists and bronze ball to the third place winners. Being the recipient of any of these balls is considered a very impressive accomplishment,” Herschman said.

The U.S. Tennis Association is all about getting more people onto the court. Specialized tournaments like this is one way to do it.

It’s a lengthy process to apply to be tournament director, secure the location and do everything that is involved with such an event. The Herschmans started the procedure more than a year ago.

The USTA National Husband Wife Hard Court Championships will be at Zephyr Cove Tennis Club Sept. 11-17. Photo Copyright 2017 Carolyn E. Wright

“Why choose Lake Tahoe? No. 1 it’s the facility, and No. 2, how do you beat Lake Tahoe?” Steve Leube, executive director of USTA Northern California, told Lake Tahoe News. “It’s about playing the sport of tennis and the atmosphere and what the area offers outside of tennis. There is a lot to do outside of tennis.”

That is what Herschman used to sell the area as well – the whole outdoor lifestyle, and indoor, too, if people are into gambling.

For the club, it means a little more exposure beyond the local members and couple hundred people who play in the July tournament.

“Zephyr Cove is a special tennis venue, being nestled in the forest with peeks of the lake. Our tennis community welcomes all levels of play, making it feel like a family. That’s why having one of the USTA’s family events here is so special,” Carolyn Wright, Zephyr Cove Tennis Club Foundation president, told Lake Tahoe News. 

Three local couples are playing in the tournament: Holly and Ross Rittiman of Zephyr Cove, Louise and Philip Proffer of Glenbrook, and Susan Losoncy-Ruch and Lee Ruch of Carson City.

“We want to take advantage of this opportunity to play in a national tournament and to see how we do with this higher level of competition,” Holly Rittiman told Lake Tahoe News. “Tennis is such a great sport for the whole family and I can’t tell you just how much I love playing with my husband and children. I know that many spouses have problems on the court together … what can I say, Ross is very tolerant and forgiving.”

Actual play starts Sept. 12. There is no charge to watch the various matches. Food will be available as well as merchandise.