History

Tennis. Tradition. Today

Berkeley Tennis Club was founded in 1906 and was originally located on 2624 Hillegass Avenue. In 1917, the Club moved to its present site at One Tunnel Road. The initial membership has grown from 40 to over 500! This membership consists of: single, individual, couple and family membership options.

Berkeley Tennis Club has been blessed with many great players in its membership including Don Budge, Helen Wills Moody, Helen Jacobs, William Johnson, Edward Chandler, Bill Crosby, Hugh Ditzler, Julie Heldman, William Hoogs, Frank Kovacs, Don Jacobus, Clif Mayne, Bill Maze, Jim McManus, Jeff Borowiak, Girls’ 18 National Champion Sasha Podkolzina and Hazel Wightman (of the Wightman Cup).

The Club was host to such tournaments as the Pacific Coast Championships and the Redwood Bank Tournament, in which greats such as Rod Laver, Ken Rosewall, Stan Smith and others have participated. Present members include perennial Pacific Coast Seniors Champion Doug Sykes, University of California Head Coach Peter Wright, African American Hall of Fame inductee Wendell Pierce, University of California Hall of Fame inductee Barrie Bulmore and many other successful collegiate and National Gold, Silver and Bronze Ball winners. In the recent years Billie Jean King returned to the Club at which she played at so often in her younger years and crowned the Girls' 18 National Champion. Berkeley Tennis Club was proud to give Billie Jean an Honorary Lifetime Membership to Berkeley Tennis Club at that time.

Today the Club fields many competitive U.S.T.A. League teams and offers a strong Junior Development Program.