Column: Oracle Challenge Series in Newport Beach is an important step in improving American tennis

Major tennis tournaments in California have become as rare as U.S. men winning Grand Slam titles.

Once, there was an impressive array of high-quality events here. A who’s-who of luminaries competed at the Los Angeles Tennis Club and UCLA from 1927 through 2012. San Jose, Carson, Manhattan Beach and Carlsbad had significant tournaments, and the Bank of the West Classic at Stanford became a perennial favorite among female players.

Sponsorship problems and waning interest wiped out all but the BNP Paribas Open at Indian Wells in March. The Bank of the West Classic remains in limbo since Stanford said it no longer could hold a sponsored event on campus. Tournament owner IMG said in December it hoped to find a new site in the Bay Area but has made no additional announcement.

The Oracle Challenger Series is bucking that trend by introducing events at the Newport Beach Tennis Club and Indian Wells. They’re part of the men’s secondary Challenger tour and the Women’s Tennis Assn.’s $125,000 series, also a secondary circuit. They offer a combined $300,000 in prize money and wild-card berths in the main draw at Indian Wells for the two American men and two American women who have the best combined totals in the two events. The Newport Beach event ends Sunday. The Indian Wells Challenger event will run Feb. 24-March 4.

The creation of these tournaments is an important step in advancing the development of American players and discovering whether the sport can flourish here again.

“This is totally amazing for me, having a tournament in your own backyard,” said world No. 113 Nicole Gibbs of Venice, who attended Mira Costa High and the Crossroads School before winning two NCAA singles titles and a doubles title at Stanford. “The level of comfort that that brings, for particularly SoCal players but also just American players in general, to kind of understand their environment and be super-comfortable getting ready for matches makes all the difference. We’re really appreciative to Oracle for sponsoring things and for kind of bringing tennis back to the Southern California area.”

Bradley Klahn of Poway, who reached No. 63 in the world before back surgery kept him off the court for nearly two years, welcomed the chance to compete in an event close to home while he tries to regain his peak form. “It means everything for us, especially being a Southern California kid, growing up in San Diego, training in Los Angeles now. It’s nice to have professional tennis in Southern California,” said Klahn, who won his first two matches. “It’s a great event and a great opportunity for us.”

Oracle is a prominent supporter of junior, college and pro tennis. CEO Mark Hurd had a tennis scholarship at Baylor, and the school’s tennis center bears his name; Larry Ellison, Oracle’s chairman and chief technology officer, bought the Indian Wells event and facility and transformed them into what’s often called the unofficial fifth Slam. “Our objective is to help grow the game, to grow the game in the U.S., to bring fantastic events to the U.S.,” Hurd said in a phone interview, “and our objective is to make these events just absolutely first-rate, quality events that attract great players.”

These new events came together quickly. “One of the things we looked at was the timing of these Challengers, that gap between Australia and Indian Wells, and the opportunity to provide both the men and the women an opportunity as they do that transition between Australia and Indian Wells,” Hurd said. “Particularly the players that aren’t in the top 30 and 40 and 50, giving the opportunities for them to get back here and give them a place to compete, improve their earnings, and gain points and prepare. It fit neatly into the calendar.”

The Newport Beach event has a relaxed setting that brings fans closer to the action than they would at big events.

“This is what tennis is like before you start playing the Slams. It’s a little bit like a return to how we’re used to things being,” Gibbs said.

The field was an interesting mix. One day this week, Italy’s Francesca Schiavone, 37, lost her first round on the main court; up-and-comer Sachia Vickery of Florida, 22, was winning on Court 4; and 21-year-old Ernesto Escobedo of West Covina lost on Court 3.

“It’s amazing having tournaments here in L.A.,” Escobedo said. “I remember the last one was at UCLA, but that got canceled, which was a bummer for me because I’ve always liked to play at home and this is pretty much playing at home.”

The biggest name was Kei Nishikori of Japan, who has ranked as high as No. 4 in the world. He chose this best-of-three format to play his first match since a wrist injury sidelined him last August.

“That’s a huge asset to the tournament. We’re lucky to have him here,” Gibbs said. “But there’s honestly so much excitement about so many great, young players in the SoCal area.”

One of those players, former UCLA standout Dennis Novikov, beat Nishikori in three sets in the first round. But it wasn’t a total loss for Nishikori, who is coached by former French Open champion Michael Chang.

“It was very fun here,” Nishikori said. “I like coming to California because I don’t have much chance to come here, and my coach’s house is around here. It was good to enjoy this week.”

The last American man to win a Grand Slam, by the way, was Andy Roddick at the 2003 U.S. Open. Events like this could help shorten the wait for the next American male Slam champion and revive tennis in a place where it once thrived.

helene.elliott@latimes.com

Follow Helene Elliott on Twitter @helenenothelen