Tennis : Doubles Partners ‘Break Up’ in Favor of Real Love Match

Long before the President’s Council on Physical Fitness declared June National Tennis Month, the sixth month of the year was known as the month for marriage.

And even though Elliot Mininberg has qualified to play in a regional tournament that could put him in Forest Hills, N.Y., former home of the U. S. Open, Mininberg is bowing out of the tournament so he can see his nephew tie the knot.

“He’s getting married in Puerto Rico,” Mininberg said. “It’s hard to make a backhand from there.”

Mininberg of Chatsworth and his doubles partner, Mark Hissong of Canoga Park, won the Clausthler Men’s Doubles Classic at Cal State Northridge early this month and qualified for the regional finals to be held at the Racquet Centre in Universal City on June 24-26. The winner of that tournament will advance to the national tournament in New York.

“Tennis is . . . exercise,” Mininberg said. “It’s not the biggest thing in my life.”

Mininberg, an administrative vice president at Cal State Northridge, and Hissong, a lieutenant with the CSUN campus police, have been playing in tournaments together for two years.

“We’ve won or been in the finals in most of them,” Mininberg said. “We make a good team.”

Mininberg, 49, and Hissong, 54, beat Jamie Garcia and Jeff Luani at CSUN, but will allow Garcia and Luani to advance to the regionals in their place. Although some might claim that Mininberg and Hissong had an unfair advantage playing on a court within 10 minutes of their work, Mininberg disagrees.

“Once you hit the arthritic state, the court isn’t as important as how you get up in the morning,” he said.

Add Hissong: Hissong could not fault Mininberg for not being available for the regional finals because he could not compete, either. Hissong is participating in the California Police Olympics, to be held in Bakersfield on June 21-26.

Hissong and doubles partner Ken Smith finished third last year after an eight-year layoff forced by Smith’s move to Idaho and Hissong’s conflicting work schedule. They also finished third in the first Police Olympics in 1967 and “won several times after that,” Hissong said. One year, Hissong and Smith met in the singles final and then played for the doubles championship.

“He and I go back a lot of years,” Hissong said. “We’ve got a little bit of mileage on the court.”

Hissong also will compete in the singles tournament for players age 40 and over.

Family dynasty: For the third time in four years, the USTA Volvo League team managed by Don Hartley has qualified for the sectional playoffs at UCLA. But the trophy case at Hartley’s Granada Hills residence is not cluttered solely with Don’s honors--Carol, Don’s wife, has advanced to the sectional playoffs for the third consecutive year.

Don joined the league--a national organization of local leagues in the Valley and Ventura County--four years ago when the Balboa Park tennis club closed and he and other members were left looking for appealing courts on which to play.

The team, which comprises 12 players between 30 and 60 years of age, finished second in the sectionals that first year at the 3.5 level, but has since advanced to the 4.0 level. The highest level is 5.

“I’m expecting that next year enough players will be bumped up to the 4.5 level that we’ll all go, “ Don said. “We’ve had our fun. It’ll get more difficult next year.”

If Carol’s team, which competes at the 4.5 level, wins the sectionals Aug. 12-15, it will advance to Tucson, Ariz., for the national tournament. A win for Don’s team would send the contingent to South Carolina--and the Hartleys to a furniture store for a new trophy case.

Family fun: Any family that contains at least two tennis players probably can find a category in which to compete during the Equitable Family tennis challenge at Cal State Northridge on June 24-26.

The tournament has six doubles categories: mother-daughter, mother-son, father-daughter, father-son, husband-wife and brother-sister.

The winners will advance to the sectionals July 23-24 at a site to be determined in the greater Los Angeles area. The national finals will be at Flushing Meadows, N.Y., during the U. S. Open.

The final day for sign-ups is June 20.

Information: 818-885-3330.

And one for the juniors: Sign-ups are still being conducted for the 57th Los Angeles Junior Metropolitan tournament in Griffith Park on July 11-17.

Boys and girls singles players ages 10 to 18 have until June 24 to enter.

Information: 818-246-5614.