The Woody Tennis Championships® is a celebration of what’s best about Tennis.
Our great sport of tennis has seen significant changes, none greater than the transition from wood to graphite racquets during the late 1970's and early 1980's. Throughout the approximate 10-year transition, wood racquets remained in regular use at all levels of play until Wilson finally ended production of the Jack Kramer Mid-Size Woody in 1983.
As kids there was no greater dream than to play Davis Cup and wear those awesome blue/white/red sweats. We rooted for our hero’s like Stan Smith, Arthur Ashe, Bob Lutz. We watched with jealous admiration our contemporaries, John McEnroe, Borg display their athletic mastery getting up very early Sunday mornings. We all have our favorite matches - LMK at our X site.
The space age contributed new materials offering fresh territory for racquets. Companies like Dunlop integrated graphite into the best selling Fort, then Wilson, Prince, and Head all began offering tennis racquets made from non-wood materials including aluminum, steel, fiberglass. Once they got graphite right: (Prince Original Graphite OS or 6.0 & 6.1 Pro Staff’s… game over. Wood just couldn't handle the same forces generated by graphite (or s new set of athletes, but that's another story).
Out with the old and into The Woody. The Woody Tennis Championships® held its first tournament in 1992 on one hard court in Orange County, California. Jim Settles and Granville Swope, both products of the wood era, and both growing up playing through the USTA SoCal Juniors tennis programs, the tournament’s founders, remain competitors (meaning 65).
Jim and Gran in 1981 - Arizona State University Tennis Team
One evening while on a camping trip in the Mojave desert, they penciled out the now 34 year old event. Being competitors it quickly became apparent The Woody needed a third voice should any problems arise during the event. Steve Higginbotham, a sports photographer with paramedic history joined the original team, forming The Woody Committee.
Jim and Gran’s common tennis experience over the years reflects another time, another era; when Patriotism (America's best played and owned Davis Cup '78, '79, '81, 82 - 13 total wins as of 4/14/11, Sweden #2 at 7), Integrity (surrendering a point for bad line call in your favor), Honor (Pro vs. Amateur boycotts & paving the way for the ATP and the "Open" era), and of course, Guts (Arthur Ashe) were the norm. Today these values are the benchmarks for measuring your "Woodness," these values are the attributes of a "Man of Wood." These qualities are reflected in our players on and off the court.
The Woody Tennis Championships® honors tennis' unique history by using wood racquets exclusively. We have one case of white tennis balls used for semi’s and finals. Wear white shorts and shirts, enforce rules of conduct, and for the last 34 years, enjoy the luxury of the grass courts. In 2021 The Woody relocated to the fabulous Mission Hills Country Club in Rancho Mirage.
The Woody roster is about 60 players deep after so many years. Today, a second generation of young players who never held a wood racquet are competing against seasoned veterans; all having made the transition from wood to graphite during their peak playing years. It is one of those intangibles that makes our sport so compelling, and what makes The Woody so unique. There were just a handful of pro players who successfully embraced and mastered both technologies (Mac on one side of that success story, Borg on the other). In 2010 The Woody crowned its youngest Woody champ, Spencer Hing at 18 years, while playing both with and against our oldest player (during the round robin segment of the draw), Jim Settles Sr., 83 years old (former Pepperdine tennis team and owner of multiple national tennis championships). Many of The Woody players remain teaching pros and tennis industry representatives, and all are tennis nuts.
As tennis changed, so has The Woody, and so have the players and their priorities. Both Settles and Swope, as well as most of the Men of Wood, are now family men. “The Woody” became an answer that needed a question. What else could The Woody be? A cause for good was an easy answer. So The Woody began sending extra cash from our event to tennis related special needs like Andrea Jeager's Silver Lining Foundation, NJTL programs, and ultimately settling upon The Freedom Alliance Scholarship Fund benefiting the families of America's fallen soldiers (linked on front page.)
Early on, the funds generated by our players’ entry fees was meager, a few hundred dollars. So we began a raffle and auction. Industry professionals generously donated products such as a signed product for auction. Last year The Woody began an “auction matching” program up to $4000. We are delighted and grateful to welcome Tennis Warehouse as our founding contributor.
To date The Woody raised approximately $75K dollar to Freedom Alliance. - WOW!!! Jim and I are proud of that. If you would like to be part of our Woody Auction and/or matching program please drop Granville or Jim a note at: woodytennis@yahoo.com.
Thanks for visiting…
Gran & Jim
The Woody Tennis Championships® is a registered trademark.
Nice hats!
