Tennis
Imperial Courts offers 9 Championship-level courts. Five courts are lighted for night play. We offer lessons for singles, doubles or teams.
Our courts are regularly maintained, and available most days we are open (weather permitting).
Imperial Courts is an active participant in men and women ‘s USTA and interclub play.
Imperial Courts is a USTA Member.
Tennis Lessons
Tennis lessons are available in the following time slots:
1 hour for single
1 1/2 hours for doubles
David Van Ness
David offers impressive credentials:
Received full athletic scholarship for tennis at University of Tennessee at Chattanooga
BS in Psychology from UTC
Head Coach - Men’s and Women’s tennis at Cabrillo College
Six-time Coach of the Year
USPTA Certified Professional Instructor
#1 Ranked NTRP player in the 5.0s
Contact Dave at 831-600-5875 or email at CapitolaDave@gmail.com
Please contact Dave prior to attending any of the following classes as they are subject to change:
Mondays: 9-10 a.m. Cardio-Tennis (drop-in)
Fridays: Adult Drills and Live Ball 10-11 a.m. (six play maximum)
Melissa Gurney Van Ness
Melissa Gurney reached a career high WTA ranking of #17 in the world in 1986. She was inducted into the USTA Northern California Tennis Hall Of Fame in 2022. Her tennis accomplishments include the following:
Won US National 18 Hardcourts at age 15
Ranked #2 Nationally in Girl’s 16 Singles
#1 National ranked Junior in the country
Won two consecutive Singles Championships
U.S. Open 3rd Round (twice)
Wimbledon 3rd Round
French Open 3rd Round
Melissa won two pro tournaments, the Virginia Slims of San Diego and the California Open . She began training in Southern California at the Jack Kramer Club at 8 years old. She retired in 1995, and has been teaching over 20 years at Imperial Courts.
Contact Melissa at 831-234-4589
TENNIS TIP OF THE MONTH
Often I see the club player swinging too fast in an effort to increase their racquet head speed. I’d rather have the ball speed up with easy racquet head acceleration. Certainly there is a correlation between racquet head speed and ball speed, but I’d rather see the club player focus on “contact point” and hitting the “center of the racquet” with a “square racquet face”(perpendicular to the ground). Invariably, good comes from hitting the ball clean and out in front of the body! Focus on these fundamentals and you can hit the ball big with an easy swing.