The Villager October 24, 2025 publication
By Betty Olsen
What a beautiful day for our semi-annual match with Rossmoor! On Saturday, October 18, starting at 9:00am, six tennis courts were filled with senior tennis players. Rossmoor is the 55+ community in Walnut Creek with about 9,000 residents.
In the spring, the villages traveled to Walnut Creek for the match. However, we lost the match and turned over the perpetual plaque to Rossmoor but vowed to earn it back. And we succeeded! Gail Tuft, tournament director, put together an outstanding lineup and the villages won 18-6.
Our dynamite social director, Nancy Domingo, put together an outstanding breakfast spread and then at 11:30pm a taco truck served lunch for everyone! The viewing stan was full of spectators, because we have a best facility for viewing. Here are some photos of the participants.
Tennis Talk By Marty Funcell Preview of The Villager October 17, 2025 publication
Art Lind, our 97-year young tennis player is playing in the International Tennis Federation +90 tournament this week in Croatia.
He and his son were interviewed on the local NBC TV news where they also showed some clips of him playing on the Villages tennis courts.
Art commented that his Cardiologist told him that his “heart will last as long as he lives.”
At this time of this writing, Art won his quarter final match and will be playing in the semi-final singles match. He is also playing in the +90 men’s doubles tournament.
ROSSMOOR:
On Saturday, October 18, we will be hosting the Rossmoor Tennis Club from Walnut Creek in our semi-annual match. Play starts at 9 am and is expected to finish by 1 pm. Come and support us to get the plaque back!
How about the women’s semi-final matches at the Open!! They really put on a show. Kudos to Anisimova and Pegula!
Now is the time to grab your mixed doubles partner and signup for our tennis club tournament on Saturday, September 27 and Sunday, September 28. The format is again a compass draw where you keep playing whether you win our lose. Of course, we need 8 teams to signup for the “A” category and 8 teams for the “B” category for a perfect draw. If we have 4 or less teams in a category, the format will be a round robin. For 5 or more teams, we will use a modified compass draw.
AWARDS BANQUET has been cancelled. The tennis club board has recently decided to award the medals for our club tournament at the club’s Christmas Party on Saturday, December 6. Please adjust your calendars.
A volunteer is needed to be in charge of taking photos at the tennis club events. It would be much appreciated if you would call me, Betty Olsen, at 801-361-5591 so we have plenty of good photos for the Villager and our website.
Next home match for our USTA 55+ Mixed 7.0 team is Saturday, September 13 at 4:30pm
Last Chance to enter Village Tennis Club Tournament. Don’t miss out sitting on the sidelines
SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 6 AND SUNDAY SEPTEMBER 7
MEN’S DOUBLES AND WOMEN’S DOUBLES
2 categories: A = 4.0 – 3.5 and B = 3.0 – 2.5
To register, check your emails or contact Sukh Johal, s.johal15@gmail.com, 408-836-5232, or Betty Olsen, betty_olsen@yahoo.com, 801-361-5591
Nancy Domingo and her crew will be serving Korean BBQ.
The USTA Village 55+ Mixed 7.0 team is ready to go! First match is Saturday, August 30 at 5:00pm here. We will be playing Morgan Hill. Here is our home match schedule:
As the pros are gearing up for the US Open, it is also time for villagers to gear up for our club tournament. While the US Open is all about Singles, we here at the villages are all about Doubles. So grab your favorite doubles partner and register for the year end club tournament.
Saturday, September 6 & Sunday, September 7
8:30am – 1:00pm
Format is a compass draw where you continue playing whether you win or lose. Ideal compass draw is 8 teams. You will have fun playing 3 different teams. If we don’t have enough for a compass draw, the format will be a round robin. There will be 2 matches on Saturday and 1 match on Sunday.
to be held on Saturday, September 27 and Sunday, September 28 from 8:30 am to approximately 1:00 pm
Signup early (so we can fill out the draws).
Don’t forget to mark your calendars for the Awards Banquet will be at Foothill on Sunday, October 5.
Any questions regarding the tournaments, contact Sukh Johal, Tournament Director, at s.johal15@gmail.com, 408-836-5232 or Betty Olsen at betty_olsen@yahoo.com, 801-361-5591,
Meet new tennis club member Betty Chase who moved to the Village Montgomery just a few months ago. Betty moved here from the small town of Arnold in our gorgeous Sierra Nevada Mountains. She loved living in Arnold – despite all the work of shoveling snow, stacking firewood, weed whacking a large yard, maintaining a large house, etc. After the death of her husband two years ago and recent birth of her newest grandson, she made up her mind to move closer to family. Betty has two daughters in Sunnyvale (with 4 grandsons) and a son in San Jose (with one granddaughter).
Betty grew up in Walnut Creek playing tennis with family, taking (and teaching) tennis lessons, and playing local junior tournaments. She played on her high school team and for Pomona College in Southern California. In 1975, Betty transferred to UC Berkeley for her junior and senior years and played on Berkeley’s tennis team!
Her tennis racquet went in the closet when she began working as a tech writer in Silicon Valley and raising a family. Later she moved into the field of employee communications where she penned executive emails, presentations, websites, instructions to employees, etc.
Betty loved all the outdoor opportunities of living in Arnold. Depending on the season, she could hike or snowshoe right outside her front door and golf was just a short drive away. She especially enjoyed being a docent at Calaveras Big Trees State Park where she joined the trail maintenance team.
Betty has already said yes to many clubs and activities here at The Villages, but she says that the tennis club has been by far the most welcoming. Betty brought her 40-year-old racquet to Jump Start, then to Monday and Friday afternoon 4:30pm tennis. She now is subbing for some of the regular foursomes and is getting a new racquet! Welcome back to tennis Betty. So now when there is talk about tennis Betty, the answer is which one!
Betty Chase
Be sure to signup here for the Men’s and Women’s Doubles Tennis Tournament to be held on Saturday September 6 and Sunday, September 7 from 8:30 am to approximately 1:30 pm.
on Saturday, September 27 and Sunday, September 28 from 8:30 am to approximately 1:30 pm
Signup early (so we can fill out the draws.
Don’t forget the Awards Banquet will be at Foothill on Sunday, October 5.
Any questions regarding the tournament, contact Sukh Johal, Tournament Director, at s.johal15@gmail.com, 408-836-5232 or Betty Olsen at 801-361-5591, betty_olsen@yahoo.com.
It’s that time of year for our annual Club Tournament. The Men & Women’s Doubles tournament is Saturday, September 6 and Sunday, September 7, starting at 8:30am – about 1:30pm. The format is a compass draw which means you keep playing whether you win or lose. You will play 2 matches on Saturday and 1 on Sunday. We need 8 teams for a full compass draw. If we only have 4 teams for a category, we will do a round robin format. If there are 5 or 6 teams, you may have only 2 matches, 1 on Saturday and 1 on Sunday.
It would be helpful if you would sign-up early so we can fill out the draws and have time to find you a partner if you need one. . If you haven’t received an email this week, first check your spam folder. If you can’t find it, call Sukh Johal, Tournament Director, s.johal15@gmail.com or 408-836-5232.
Don’t be shy. Join in and participate This is a great way to improve your tennis skills and meet new players. If you have questions, call me Betty Olsen, 801-361-5591, betty_olsen@yahoo.com.
The club Mixed Double tournament will be Saturday, September 27 and Sunday, September 28 using the same format. So be sure to put these dates on your calendar and be on the lookout for the mixed doubles signup form.
And finally, the Awards Banquet will be at Foothill on Sunday, October 5.
On Friday, July 18, the tennis club held their annual July Mixer and Dinner. Gail Tuft was chairman of the Razzle Dazzle Mixer. 24 players started the action off at 5:00pm playing the first round. When the bell rang, play stopped and the winning team moved to the next court and split up. The losing team stayed on the court and split up. This format allows a change of partner every round.
Following the tennis, Nancy Domingo and her food committee spread out a taco bar with all the trimmings along with beer, wine, soft drinks and dessert. Spectators who signed-up for dinner only joined the players for dinner.
Many thanks to Jayme Dickson for setting up the tent shade so that spectators and diners didn’t bake in the summer sun. However, the weatherman was super cooperative because we enjoyed perfect weather for tennis.
Now is the time to start finding a partner for our September Club Tournament. The Men and Women’s Doubles will be held Saturday, September 6 and Sunday, September 7. Sukh Johal is chairmen. There will be 2 categories:
A 4.0 – 3.5
B 3.0 – 2.5
There will be 3 matches, 2 on Saturday and 1 on Sunday. The format is a compass draw. You keep playing whether you win or lose, so don’t wait until the last minute to register. Put these dates on your calendar NOW.
A number of tennis club members motored up to San Rafael Thursday, July 10 for the Sectionals at the Marin Tennis Club for the 8:00am Saturday, July 11 match. The Villages men’s 55+ 7.0 team had 3 matches scheduled in a round robin format, 2 on Friday and 1 on Saturday.
The line-up for Friday, 8:00am match was Paul Spisar/Harry Soin, Steve Olson/Minh Lam, Brett Foreman/Adrien Fournier. Everyone fought hard, but Harry and Paul were the only ones to come up with a W, and they won 11-9 in the very exciting 3rd set tie-break. The team lost 1-2. . However Steve and Minh came so close playing a 3rd set tie-break.
The line-up for the Friday 11:00am match was Brett Foreman/Brian Dombrowski, Steve Olson/Minh Lam, and Paul Spisar/Srini Srinivasan. Brett and Brian and Paul and Srini came out with Wins, so the team won 2-1.
The line-up for Saturday at 11:00am was Brett Foreman/Brian Dombrowski, Steve Olson/Venkat Prabhala, Paul Spisar/Harry Soin. Brett and Brian came out with a W, but the team lost 1-2. Congratulation to the team for fighting hard and improving through the season, and looking forward to next year.
Brett and the team are planning an end of the season party celebration coming soon.
Next up is the 55+ Mixed League 7.0 league. Deadline for team entries is July 28 with league play August 25 – November 2. With both Village teams going to Sectionals, the Villages should be very competitive. Brett has agreed to be captain and Betty co-captain. Let either of us know if you are interested in participating.
Summer is here so let’s have some fun. You don’t want to miss the summer Mixer and Dinner that is hosted by the Villages Tennis Club. Grab your calendar and/or phone and circle.
Gail and Mike Tuft are chairing this event and have designed it for you to meet and play with fellow club members. The format will be a Razzel Dazzle Mixer where players will be grouped into A & B flights based on skill level.
After tennis, Nancy Domingo and her food committee will treat you to a delicious Taco Bar consisting of a variety of meats, plus a vegetarian impossible burger option. Make your own taco with classic taco fixings: salsa, shredded lettuce, onions, cheese, sour cream, etc. In addition, there will be salads, ice cream, beer and wine.
If you no longer play tennis, but want to come watch and socialize, please register for the dinner only using the same registration form. Aren’t you glad you don’t have to personally run down to the tennis shack any longer and sign a sheet of paper to register!
