More than 200 local LGBT tennis players will be swinging racquets this weekend at the LA Open 2014.
The tournament begins tomorrow with matches at the Burbank Tennis Center at 1515 N. Glen Oaks Blvd. in Burbank, the Vermont Canyon Tennis Courts in Griffith Park and the Balboa Tennis Courts at 17015 Burbank Blvd. in Los Angeles. The matches will run through Sunday.
The tournament is put on by the Los Angeles Tennis Association, founded in 1978 to cater to the LGBT community. LATA, the largest tennis association in the world, has had six leagues playing in cities ranging from Beverly Hills to Studio City this winter season.
This year’s tournament will be one of the events on the Gay and Lesbian Tennis Alliance (GTLA) World Tour calendar. The GLTA is an international organization that manages and sanctions the gay tennis circuit around the world. There are more than 70 GLTA tournaments around the world each year in cities ranging from Paris to Prague. A GLTA grass court tournament will take place in Palm Springs May 1 through 4.
There will be a welcome party tonight for participants in the LA Open at Gold Coast bar at 8228 Santa Monica Blvd. at North La Jolla.
