The Barnes Tennis Center in Point Loma held an event on Saturday, Sept. 17 aimed at promoting the joy of playing tennis among the Latino community and youth. The event was organized and attended by members of the recently launched Latin American Tennis Foundation (LATF) including its founders Rosie Casals, and family members of tennis pro Pancho Gonzalez.

“We had a good crowd of kids who came in the afternoon because they were still playing the ATP qualifying,” said Casals. “We had a great time with lots of tacos and music and activities on the court for them.”

The age ranges of those who took part were from 6 years old to adults and encompassed all levels of play. There was also an exhibition by junior players and the University of San Diego women’s tennis team along with a panel discussing the future of tennis in the Latino community. This panel included tennis veterans Richard Gonzales, the eldest son of tennis great Pancho Gonzales, 2011 San Diego Tennis Hall of Fame inductee Angel Lopez, and USD women’s tennis team head coach Nadia Abdala alongside Casals as well.

“In organizing this, I have organized in the Palm Springs Palm Desert area a similar event prior to COVID and hope to be able to do this next year there in Indian Wells at the tennis garden,” she added. “I think it’s just a great thing to give exposure to the Hispanic tennis community. We had not only Latinos, but we also had everybody, so it was very inclusive,” she added.

Also, present on Saturday were LATF members Raf Osuna, nephew of Mexican tennis great Rafael Osuna, along with his wife Claudia.

Casals won the grand slam doubles championship at Wimbledon five times and US Open four times making it to the US Open singles final on two occasions first in 1970, the same year she reached the No. 3 ranking in the world, falling to Margaret Court in three sets, and then lost to Billie Jean King in 1971. Casals is also the co-founder of the Love and Love Tennis Foundation, which provides free youth tennis clinics throughout the Coachella Valley.

“I don’t know if this will take place again at the Barnes Tennis Center,” said Casals. “The more the merrier so that we can have more outreach for the Latino community.”

The event was part of Southern California USTA’s Hispanic Heritage Month celebration. For more information on the Latin American Tennis Foundation, visit latinamericantennisfoundation.org.