Returning to Their First Love

ALEX OLMEDO

Alex Olmedo wanted a normal life, so he came to the Beverly Hills Hotel to teach celebrities how to swing.

That was 30 years ago. He’d just come off the professional tennis circuit, where he’d spent five years touring with such legends as Pancho Segura and Pancho Gonzalez. He’d also represented the United States on the Davis Cup team in 1958 and 1959.

So Olmedo needed somewhere to hang his racquet within driving distance of his children’s school. And until the hotel closed for renovation, he coached lions of business and entertainment as the hotel’s head tennis pro. During the hiatus, Olmedo made house calls to clients with private tennis courts. Now he’s back championing the hotel’s two hard courts and telling big shots how to hit the ball without too much top spin. Not that they mind handing over the reins to someone else for $95 an hour.

“We play with people that come to enjoy the game,” Olmedo says. “We compete to a degree, but it’s mainly to have fun.”