Roy Emerson Adoption Guild Tennis Classic kicks off Saturday

The 54th annual Roy Emerson Adoption Guild Tennis Classic, a United States Tennis Assn. sponsored tournament, begins Saturday morning at Newport Beach Tennis Club.

The tournament, hosted by the Adoption Guild of Southern Orange County, will also take place Sunday and Monday, as well as May 30-31 at NBTC, Palisades Tennis Club, The Tennis Club Newport Beach and Mesa Verde Tennis Club.

The Kick-Off Players Party is the featured event, taking place on Saturday at 6 p.m. at Newport Beach Tennis Club. The party will include fare from local restaurants, as well as live music. Admission is free to tournament players and $20 for non-players.

All tournament and party proceeds benefit Holy Family Adoption and Foster Care Services (HFS), a non-denominational agency established in 1949 by Bob and Dolores Hope.

Tournament and charity information can be found online at www.adoptionguild.org.

The tournament features all levels of play, including Open Men’s Singles, Open Women’s Singles, Men’s Open Doubles, Women’s Open Doubles, Mixed Open Doubles and Men’s 35-and-over Doubles among other divisions.

Prize money is offered in the Open Men’s and Women’s events.

The tournament chair is Kelly Knight.

Emerson, a Newport Beach resident, is one of the most prolific players in tennis history, holding 28 Grand Slam titles, 12 singles titles and 16 doubles titles. He was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame in 1982. He remains the only male player to win singles and doubles titles in each of the four Grand Slam events.

— Steve Virgen