Ken Stuart, Millennium Hall of Fame

Whether it’s Andre Agassi and Jim Courier in the Davis Cup, or

Jimmy Connors and John McEnroe battling on the senior tennis tour, the

Palisades Tennis Club made its way onto the national television spotlight

in the 1990s.

But Ken Stuart, the man behind the dream of the Palisades Club, isn’t

quite ready to rest on his laurels.

“We have plans for another venue to come here again. It’s premature to

say what that is, but the line of communication is wide open between me

and the promoters and the ITF (International Tennis Federation),” said

Stuart, owner and operator of the Palisades Club in Newport Beach, which

has club member Lindsay Davenport lobbying for it to one day host the

U.S. Fed Cup team.

Stuart, 56, has developed a niche in the local market for tennis clubs

-- “privacy and exclusivity” -- while specializing in computerized

matchmaking for members and high-end service.

“No part of our operation is open to the public, unless we bring in a

big event,” said Stuart, whose club has always attracted top-level

players.

Stuart, a former Costa Mesa High boys tennis coach who won CIF

Southern Section and NCAA doubles titles as a player, returned to his

roots in two ways during the 90s.

First, in May 1991, Stuart “reopened” the Palisades Tennis Club, once

a hot item in the 1960s under local legend Charlie Eaton. Stuart

purchased a small lot behind the Acapulco restaurant in Costa Mesa on

Southeast Bristol and turned it into a gem with five courts and no

lights, naming the club after Eaton’s.

Then, in August 1995, Stuart made his biggest homecoming, returning to

the John Wayne Tennis Club, which he helped open in 1974 during the

sport’s boom as director of tennis, general manager and head

professional.

Stuart also consulted with two architects to help design the facility

named after the silver screen icon and was a prominent member of the

tennis community throughout the 1970s, before Stuart and the Wayne Club’s

former owner drifted apart.

When Stuart moved his modest Palisades Club to the glamorous Wayne

Club site at Jamboree Road and West Coast Highway and merged the two

memberships, he kept the Palisades name and dropped the Duke’s.

“(The change) was not made out of any disrespect at all, but, instead,

it was to pay homage to one of our community’s true leaders, Charlie

Eaton,” said Stuart, who has club members he has known for 40 years and

maintains a membership cap (600), which, he added, is always at or near

capacity.

Stuart went back to the tennis industry after making a killing the

landscape curbing business in the late 1980s through a company called

Creative Curb.

“I wanted to go back to making tennis my life’s work,” said Stuart,

whose club in March will host the National High School boys tennis

championships, operated by Tim Mang.

Stuart made grand promises during the grand “reopening” of the

Palisades Club in ‘95, including his goal of it becoming “the best tennis

club in the world ... not just the best in Newport Beach, or Orange

County, or Southern California, but the world!”

More than once, Stuart has had to battle to keep his club going. He

almost lost his facility to redevelopment (i.e. resorts or condos) and

has fought, and won, in court against some of Orange County’s biggest

corporate players.

And, with its recent sale, the Newport Beach Tennis Club is once again

becoming a major competitor for Stuart and his specialized club.

“We keep our focus, we keep our balance and we keep going forward,”

Stuart said of the industry wars.

Said longtime friend and club member George Yardley: “(Stuart’s) prime

concern is the happiness of his members.”

A member of this newspaper’s Hall of Fame for the annual list of the

Top 103 most influential people in the community, Stuart was rumored to

be bringing a Fed Cup tie to the Palisades Club in 1999, but the U.S.

Tennis Association squelched the idea.

As an amateur player, Stuart won a CIF doubles title for El Monte High

in 1961 with Bill Hoyt, then attended Long Beach State and won the 1966

NCAA doubles championship as a senior.

After coaching and dabbling on the pro tour for about 3 1/2 years,

Stuart started teaching full-time in 1970, during which he also won the

U.S. national public parks singles championship.

Two years later, Stuart was one of 850-plus applicants for the head

pro position at the new John Wayne Club, a coveted job during the sport’s

hottest era.

“Personally, my family will always be No. 1 on my list no matter what

list it is,” said Stuart, the latest honoree in the Daily Pilot Sports

Hall of Fame, celebrating the millennium.

Stuart lives in Newport Beach with his wife, Nancy, and three

children: Josh, 14, Cody, who turns 12 in January, and Hanna, 8. All of

them play tennis.