River Oaks Country Club has played host to the River Oaks International Tennis Tournament since 1931. The tournament is the oldest in the country to still be played in its original site, in the original stadium. From the very beginning, the River Oaks International was an amateur tournament, and was not associated with the professional tennis associations. From the start, the field was filled with a few stars and then local candidates filled out the rest of the field. There were many years when the stars found themselves headed home early.
One of the landmark tournament events was in 1974, the championship match was broadcast before a national audience; thirty-four year old Rod Laver, met the heir apparent, seventeen year old Björn Borg. For both this marked a highlight in their careers, Laver became the first man to hold 4 singles championships at River Oaks, and for Borg it marked the beginning of his impressive tennis career.
In 2008, the River Oaks International was merged with the US Men's Clay Court Championship to continue the storied and tradition filled tennis stadium at River Oaks. The merger between one of the oldest, and last remaining clay court tournaments in the United States, with the tradition oriented River Oaks, created an atmosphere like none other. With the name of the tournament the River Oaks Clay Court Championships[1]
The US Men's Clay Court Championship, an ATP World Tour 250 event, will be held April 9-15 in 2012. Ryan Sweeting is the defending singles champion and Bob and Mike Bryan are defending doubles champions.
