Westwood Country Club Real Tennis Court Opening Weekend Tickets Now Available
The new Real Tennis court at Westwood Country Club outside of Washington, D.C. is almost complete! Entries are now available for the Opening Tournament and Opening Gala, to be held November 3-6, 2022.
Very exciting news to report from the Westwood Country Club in Vienna, Virginia: the club’s brand new Real Tennis court is nearly finished, and tickets for the Opening Weekend Tournament, Gala and Professional Exhibition are now available for purchase.
The sign-up form covers all events, including both the tournament itself and social events. Entries will close October 1, but the club is expecting the event to hit capacity limits, so please do consider submitting your form as soon as possible.
Westwood is aiming to give precedence to those travelling long distances to attend the event. If you are planning to bring guests at your cost, please include them in your form. If you prefer that your guests be charged separately, please ask them to fill out their own form.
A description of the Westwood Real Tennis Court Opening Weekend festivities can be found below. (Please note that the Opening Tournament is charged separately from the Friday night Opening Gala and Saturday night Exhibition and party. You are welcome to attend the Friday or Saturday night events even if you are not participating in the tournament, and vice versa.)
Opening Tournament: October 28-30 (Local Players) and November 3-6 (Visiting Players)
The opening tournament will take place from October 28-30 (locals) and November 3-6 (visitors). To ensure that out-of-town players get sufficient time on court, local members will begin play from October 28-30 (Friday-Sunday). Out-of-town players will play from November 3-5. Both local players and out of town players are eligible to play in the finals on November 6. The format will depend on the number of entries, but is expected to be a flighted handicap event with three guaranteed matches. In the spirit of making new friends, players will be assigned rotating partners throughout the event.
The tournament entry fee of $250 (or $150 if not playing in tournament) includes the following events:
- One entry into the opening tournament
- Thursday, Friday and Saturday lunches
- Friday morning breakfast event in Westwood’s simulator lounge (golf, zombie dodgeball, target shooting, and more)
- Thursday tour of nearby Meadowlark Gardens & birdwatching hosted by Emily Peterson-Cassin
- Thursday cocktail party hosted by the US Court Tennis Preservation Foundation
- Friday afternoon lawn tennis and pickleball
- Saturday visit to the Smithsonian Museum of American History
- “State of the game” discussions moderated by Haven Pell
Golf is available on Thursday for an additional $130 (no charge for Westwood golf members). As there is limited availability for golf, precedence will be given to out-of-town guests and to Westwood golf members who would like to guide guests around the course. The club will do its best to avoid scheduling conflicts, but tournament match times will take precedence over all other scheduled activities.
Opening Gala: Friday, November 4
The main social event of the weekend will be Friday’s black tie Opening Gala. Guests shall meet at the court promptly at 5:30 p.m. (in black tie or ladies' equivalent) for the opening photograph. Following the photograph, cocktails and Champagne will be served in Westwood’s Founder’s Room (and, weather permitting, on the terrace). Dinner will begin at 7:00 p.m., with speeches of reasonable duration. Following the dinner there will be dancing and live music into the late evening. Given the exceptional nature of this event, a fee of $200 per person will be charged.
Professional Exhibition: Saturday, November 5
Saturday evening will feature a high-level Professional Exhibition match at 6 p.m. (players TBD). During and after the exhibition, there will be an open bar and passed food. The party and tournament play will continue throughout the evening. A fee of $125 per person will be charged.
Surrounding U.S. Tournaments:
For foreign travellers, the following surrounding events in the US may worth considering:
- October 3: Below Zero (invitational singles for under 0 handicappers, NYC)
- October 14-16: Jimmy Knott (level singles for multiple handicaps) (BOS), Anne Boleyn (ladies handicap singles) (Lakewood)
- Oct. 21-23: Chicago 100th Anniversary Celebration (Chicago); Hadden Tomes (Tuxedo flighted doubles)
- Oct. 28-31 Aiken: Calhoun Witham (25+ handicap doubles, Aiken)
- Nov. 3-6: Westwood Opening Weekend (Vienna, VA)
- Nov. 9-13: Silver Racquet/NY Open (NY singles handicap events)
- Nov. 17-20: Jimmy Dunn (Philadelphia) (Philadelphia flighted doubles)
Please email westwoodopening@gmail.com with any questions.
