Winter Session Starts at PTC

The Palisades Tennis Center shot back to full form on Monday as the first day of winter workouts began. Already there are waiting lists on some of the most sought after workouts. For information on days, times and levels, visit www.palitenniscenter.com or call (310) 230-2050. PTC players have enjoyed great success recently on the junior circuit. Standouts include 15-year-old Clay Thompson, who has beaten the best players in the nation in the 16s and could be No. 1 when he plays enough tournaments. He has also played several pro events and has won three times against pro players. Reese Milner is going to play for Virginia next year, Alex Soheli will play for George Washington and Danny Moss heads to Pepperdine. Walker Kehrer is one of the best players in the nation in his age group and Eduardo Nava is the second-ranked 10-year-old in the world. Over the holidays a number of pros trained at the PTC in preparation for the Australian Open. Vince Spadea was a regular at the park, hitting with the likes of Thompson and several other top PTC juniors. Spadea won two rounds in Adelaide last week beating Sebastian Grosjean of France in the first round and Mischa Zverev of Germany in the second round before losing a nail biter 7-6 in the third set to eventual runner up, Jarko Nieminen of Finland. “We are rested and excited for a great winter session at the park,” said PTC Director of Tennis Chris Harradine. “I am most excited about the large amount of new kids playing tennis right now. It seems like the kids who just started playing tennis six months ago are already doing great in tournaments and the ones that started a year ago are winning them. “This session I want to get more girls out on the courts. That is going to be a big push for me. Tennis is an amazing thing for girls. In girls tennis today, it’s extremely easy to get a college scholarship. Literally if a girl has a national ranking, she is almost assured of one. Getting a National ranking in girls tennis doesn’t mean you have to move to an academy, it’s a matter of a reasonable amount of practice and playing the right tournaments that can all be found in Southern California.” The PTC’s winter session lasts for 10 weeks and there are 95 workouts per week for all ages and levels.