Braemar Plays Host to 1st Pro Tennis Tournament

In its 26 years, the Braemar Country Club in Tarzana never has held a professional tennis tournament on its courts.

When the opportunity finally arose, however, it took all of three weeks to set the whole thing up, from first overture to first serve.

“We were asked,” said Braemar General Manager Doug Howe, “on Jan. 2 by the United States Tennis Assn. if we wanted to host an event in their Challenger Series. It had originally been planned for a club in Utah, but that club dropped out at the last minute. Our members are thrilled.”

And so, from Tuesday through Feb. 1, Braemar will be the site of a $25,000 USTA women’s tournament, singles and doubles, featuring 32 of some of the top players in the world.

The biggest name on the courts will be American Joanna Russell, who, in the past year, reached the quarterfinals in both singles and doubles at Wimbledon and the semifinals in doubles at the U.S. Open.

Players from Russia, Japan, Brazil, West Germany, Great Britain, Italy, the Netherlands, Argentina, Austria, Australia and Czechoslovakia will be competing at Braemar.

The first 21 slots are open to players ranked from 33rd to 150th in the world.

The 22nd slot is a wild-card position and that will be filled by Dena Levy of Tarzana, who is ranked 451st in the world.

A two-day qualifying event that begins Sunday at Braemar will determine the remaining 10 spots. Thirty-two players, ranked anywhere from 151st to 300th in the world, will battle for the final positions.

There is also a wild-card spot in the qualifying mini-tournament, which will go to Jessica Emans, the 16-year-old national singles and doubles amateur champion.

The Challenger Series affects computer rankings and is also an entry to higher-level competition such as the Virginia Slims tour and the U.S. Open.

Matches will begin daily at 11:30 a.m. The Feb. 1 final will begin at 12:30 p.m.

Members will be admitted free to the matches. Non-members will be charged $5 per day.