Tennis Hall Of Famer Rosie Casals To Honor Local Pioneer Jackie Cooper At Team Tennis Invitational

PALM DESERT, Calif. - March 25, 2015 - PRLog -- Indian Ridge Country Club will host the first Rosie Casals & Jackie Cooper Invitational, an event that will include local professionals and juniors who will play in a Team Tennis Pro-Am with paid amateurs.  All proceeds will benefit the Tory Fretz & Jackie Cooper Junior Tennis Fund at Variety the Children’s Charity of the Desert.  The event will take place on Sunday, April 26, 2015 at 8:30am.

Tickets are $200 per person, which includes a barbecue lunch, or $75 for lunch only.  Attendees may RSVP by calling 760-772-9411 or emailing Sportswomn@aol.com. A registration form is also available to print out at www.sportswomanevents.com. Indian Ridge Country Club is located at 76375 Country Club Drive, Palm Desert, California, 92211.

Rosemary “Rosie” Casals, a Palm Desert resident and well known tennis legend, was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame in 1996.  She is organizing the fundraising event through her company, Sportswoman, Inc., to honor the legacy of her friend and tennis pro, Jackie Cooper, who was instrumental in promoting junior tennis in the Coachella Valley.

Esurance is this year’s title sponsor, and Mylan World Team Tennis (WTT) is the presenting sponsor.  Sportswoman, Inc. serves as host sponsor with Indian Ridge County Club as venue sponsor.  Star Ortho has also signed on to support the event.  Media sponsors include KPLM Big 106 FM and KJJZ 102.3 FM (Marker Broadcasting) and Desert Golf & Tennis magazine. High visibility sponsorships are welcome and available by visiting www.sportswomanevents.com or by emailing Sportswomn@aol.com.

The Rosie Casals & Jackie Cooper Team Tennis Pro-Am will feature a Pro-Am with local juniors and professionals competing in a team tennis format that will consist of one pro, one junior and two amateurs. Billie Jean King and her World Team Tennis League, celebrating their 40^th Anniversary this year, has come on-board as a sponsor and supporter of junior tennis in the Coachella Valley. There will also be a “Doubles Shootout” with the pros and juniors teaming up with one another for trophies and cash prizes for the pros.

Billie Jean King, doubles partner and close friend of Rosie’s, said, “I’m so glad Rosie is holding this tournament in her home club of Indian Ridge to raise funds for needy juniors in the desert.  I know this is just the beginning of great things to come for the development of juniors and tennis programs here in the Coachella Valley."

Rosie Casals said, "I've personally helped a lot of the junior tennis players whenever possible here in the desert by donating time, rackets, shoes…whatever I could. I know from my own experience training on public courts that supporting these boys and girls is essential to help them realize their dreams and reach their goals. Without help from others, I would have never made it to Wimbledon and travelled the world with my tennis. Events like this Invitational are crucial to help give kids a start.”

ROSIE CASALS

Casals is one of the “Original 9” who paved the way for the first-ever professional Virginia Slims Circuit in 1971. She was the first winner of the Virginia Slims tournament in Houston and a founder of the Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) in 1973. She is regarded as a pioneer in terms of demanding equal pay for women on the tennis courts, which served as a catalyst to permanent social change and equality for women throughout the country.

Best known for doubles, Casals won twelve Grand Slam titles, seven Wimbledon (five with Billie Jean King), two mixed doubles with Ilie Năstase, four U.S. Open doubles titles and a U.S. Open mixed doubles. Her 112 doubles titles are second only to Martina Navratilova.

JACKIE COOPER

Jackie Cooper, the long-time director of tennis at the La Quinta Resort, was also known as a teacher to the stars, with a clientele that included Johnny Carson, Jackie Kennedy and Merv Griffin. Later, Cooper opened Jackie Cooper Tennis at the Palm Desert Resort Country Club, where he kept his courts free of charge for juniors.

In 2013, Cooper died of cancer. The City of La Quinta proclaimed Jan. 27, 2014 “Jackie Cooper Day” to acknowledge his contributions to tennis and the community.

TORY FRETZ

Tory Fretz, a Rancho Mirage resident, was inducted into the Intercollegiate Tennis Hall of Fame, having won the singles and doubles titles in 1961 while playing for Occidental College in Los Angeles. As a professional, Fretz reached the doubles final of the U.S. Open in 1968, and the singles finals of the Cincinnati Masters that same year. She was one of the first pros to play on the Virginia Slims Circuit in the 1970’s.

The Tory Fretz & Jackie Cooper Jr. Tennis Fund was established in 2014 to provide financial aid through grants given to local juniors, organizations or individuals who provide opportunities that enhance and promote junior tennis in the Coachella Valley. Donations to the fund can be made through Variety the Children’s Charity of the Desert, a local 501C (3) non-profit organization that is dedicated to promoting and protecting the health and well-being of underprivileged and special needs children in the Coachella Valley.

For more information about the Tennis Invitational, please contact Sportswoman, Inc. at 760-772-9411 or sportswomn@aol.com, or visit their website at www.sportswomanevents.com.