The Los Angeles Open is currently known as the Farmers Classic, a title that changes every few years based on sponsorship.
But what doesn’t change about the tournament is the history behind it, the past greats who have stepped on the court. And throughout the tournament’s 86 years, UCLA and the Open have been linked, each influencing the other’s development.
In fact, the evolution of the tournament and the construction of the Los Angeles Tennis Center are directly connected. It was the L.A. Open that enabled the tennis center to open on campus.
While the Los Angeles Tennis Club in Hollywood was home to the tournament for its first 60 years, change came in the mid-eighties, as the Los Angeles Tennis Association searched for a new home.
Even before the LATC was built in 1984, the tournament contemplated a move to UCLA. Organizers moved it to Pauley Pavilion from 1975-1979 before moving it back to the tennis club.
The event was determined to find a new location, and while Pauley Pavilion was great in terms of setting and capacity, it was indoors ““ not exactly ideal for a summertime tennis tournament.
So the L.A. Open moved back to Hollywood for the time being, but the organizers had not given up on finding a better venue.
The union of UCLA and the Los Angeles Tennis Association came about by chance ““ at a fundraiser for the medical school in 1979, tournament manager Bob Kramer said, Chancellor Charles E. Young ended up sitting with Leonard Straus, who worked with the Tennis Association.
It just so happened that the tournament was raising money for a new home, and UCLA was putting together funds to build itself a set of tennis courts for its team, who had won multiple titles in recent years.
“It all came together here on campus. … That union between the private sector and the school ended up making the tennis center a better product,” Kramer said.
“It gave it a better location; it was the best of both worlds.”
UCLA’s LATC has hosted the tournament since 1984. In the same year, it was also a host for Olympic tennis, one of many sports on the UCLA campus that played a role in that years’ games.
Now, many different events occur at the LATC, from Spring Sing to political rallies, and UCLA students can forget that the tennis center is there for tennis.
The LATC is a hub for Southern California tennis, even housing the Los Angeles Tennis Associations’ offices.
Former UCLA All-American and former head of the Los Angeles Tennis Association Frank Johnson worked with the Los Angeles Open over the years and noted that the community at large benefits from having the tournament on campus.
“I think the tournament brings people from the community onto campus. … It brings prominent L.A. citizens on the campus, people enjoy going there, it’s a lovely site,” Johnson said.
UCLA was connected to the tournament long before it stepped on campus, with graduate Arthur Ashe taking the tournament title in 1963, and then at Pauley in 1975 and 1978.
Men’s tennis coach Billy Martin noted that young tennis hopefuls who play for UCLA are inspired by the tournament and all the history it brings to the campus.
“The tradition goes back many years to some of the all-time greats,” Martin said. “Almost every great player in the last 50 years has played in it. … It’s great as a young tennis player to see this tournament happening, to see some of your idols.”
Martin attended UCLA before the tournament moved to the LATC, but the Open has been on campus the entire time he’s been a coach.
Bruin players know whenever they step onto their home court that their heroes have graced the same ground.
“It’s a special court just for that reason, there’s really been some spectacular, high-level matches here,” Martin said.