Phoenix Files History BY D O U G L A S T O W N E

L to R: Pro players Mona Anne Guerrant and Jake Hall, Elton John, Billie Jean King and Ar thu r Murray, 1970s.

Swinging Sanctuary Now a world-class resort, John Gardiner's Tennis Ranch on Camelback Mountain courted the rich and famous during the sport's 1970s boom.

M OST OF US KNOW the phrase "if walls could talk," but if the ceiling of the recently renovated Jade Bar

at Semctuary Resort and Spa in Paradise Val­ley could talk, the walls would listen along with the rest of us. That's because the wooden slats overhead came from the courts of the John Gardiner Tennis Ranch, which stood on the site of what is now Sanctuary until 2000.

Late tennis entrepreneur Gardiner was a proven commodity when he arrived in Paradise Valley in 1967, having founded the vaunted John Gardiner Tennis Ranch resort in California's Carmel Valley. Enchanted by the north slope of Camelback Mountain, with its striking views of the Praying Monk rock outcropping and Mummy Mountain, Gardin­er opened his tennis ranch three years later, riding the sport's wave of popularity through­out the 1970s. Professionals like Aussie Ken Rosewall tutored Hollywood luminaries Clint Eastwood, Liza MinneUi, Johnny Carson and

Bill Cosby in the art of hitting a topspin back­hand, and athletes learning when to poach at the net ranged in stature from jockey Willie Shoemaker to hoopster Wilt Chamberlain. Eventually, the popularity of tennis waned, Gardiner sold his interest in the business, and the resort changed focus. But the mystique Gardiner created never left the property. "The sunset view from the former clubhouse that now houses the Sanctuary's Elements Res­taurant and Jade Bar continues to take your breath away," Tricia McKnight, Gardiner's oldest daughter, says. "The wood slats in the ceiling are original; if they could talk, they would tell incredible stories about some very special people."

The man who Sports Illustrated saluted in 1970 as the originator of the tennis resort grew up in a working-class neighborhood in Philadelphia and attended nearby West Ches­ter State Teacher's College (now West Chester University) on football £ind tennis scholar­

ships. After graduation and military service during World War II, he briefly taught English and coached football and tennis at Monterey High School in California. "His 1948 football team, nicknamed 'The Big Green Shirt,' went undefeated and was named 'The Team of the Century' by the Monterey Herald" McKnight says. Gardiner left to become a tennis coach at the prestigious Del Monte Lodge in nearby Pebble Beach in 1950. When the lodge decid­ed to focus on golf, he left to start John Gar­diner's Tennis Ranch in nearby Carmel Valley.

Gardiner exhausted his savings to cre­ate his dream facility but still came up short. "When we opened [the Carmel Valley resort] in 1957, we were a tennis ranch without tennis courts," Gardiner told Arizona Highways in 1974. With additional financing from friends, the business eventually prospered, helped along by revenue generated by its associated condominiums. Bing Crosby, Clark Gable, Dinah Shore and Doris Day became regular

48 MARCH 2014 Phoenix Magazine

Musical Racquet

W HEN ELTON JOHN HAD S T A F F LUG AN UPRIGHT PIANO to center court, graduates of the week-long clinic at John Gardiner's Tennis Ranch probably suspected they wouldn't be treated to a traditional rendition of

"Pomp and Circumstance." As his fellow tennis alumni sipped champagne, John per­formed "Saturday Night's Alright for Fighting," perhaps to get competitive juices flow­ing for the afternoon's matches. "Elton was just crazy about tennis," Horst Falger says. "He spent lots of time here and gave us a wonderful surprise once with an impromptu concert. When he was later interviewed on the TV show 60 Minutes, he was wearing our logo on his jacket. Our phone rang off the hook for a week."

The flamboyant piano player had shown up soon after the resort opened to im­prove his tennis game. "I remember my dad calling me up and saying, 'There's this guy here named Elton John who wears really big glasses and wants to rent a casa, have you heard of him?'" Thomas Gardiner recalls with a laugh. The musician returned on many occasions, including 1975, when he brought an entourage including bandmates, a chef, and, one suspects, a few groupies. "The whole time he was staying at our resort, his personalized 'Elton Rocks the Westies' 707 jet was parked at Sky Harbor for everyone to gawk at," Gardiner recalls.

The English performer treated the staff wonderfully, lavished gifts on the tennis pros, and inadvertently changed the clubhouse's formal dress code. "Elton came in and our hostess offered him a jacket, telling him he needed to wear one in the dining room," former resort employee Dallas Borntrager says. "Elton became indignant and exclaimed, 'I paid $150 for this shirt!' but put it on. We relaxed the dress policy the next day unbeknownst to Elton, who wore a dark purple tuxedo to dinner."

guests and close friends of Gardiner's. In 1967, Gardiner came to Phoenix to

work as a consultant for Vik Jackson, Vik*s fether Russell Jackson, and William O'Brien, who had purchased 53 acres on Camelback Mountain, including the defunct Paradise Valley Racquet Club that actor John Ireland, actress Joanne Dru, Sydney Chaplin (CharUe Chaplin's son), and tennis legend Don Budge had opened in 1957. The club consisted of five courts and a clubhouse designed by FVank Lloyd Wright prot6g6 Hiram Hudson Bene­dict. "Sam Kitchell recommended we talk to Gardiner, as [Kitchell's] kids had attended the Carmel Valley tennis ranch," Vik Jackson says. "Gardiner had visited Paradise Valley Racquet Club in the 1950s and remembered the beautiful setting. We were lucky that Gar­diner wanted to pursue new business oppor­tunities at the time."

John Gardiner's Tennis Ranch opened in 1970 with its namesake as partner-pres­ident. Both a resort and membership club, the complex featured 41 casitas, 12. casas, 21 tennis courts - including one on the roof of a house - and landscaped grounds. But the resort's singular atmosphere really set it apart. "Everyone was there for one purpose: tennis," Tenise Kyger, Gardiner's youngest daughter, says. "At the instructional clinics and in the clubhouse, there was great mix­ing as passion about the sport broke down barriers between guests."

The Ranch featured more than 25 profes­sionals on staff. " I learned a lot about teach­ing tennis and good drills to use there," for­mer teaching pro Mark Nielsen says. "But I mostly remember the free racquets, shoes and clothes we received." The resort's ten­nis focus had one exception: There were no lighted courts, so competition ended at sunset. "John Gardiner's philosophy was to make termis fun," Horst Falger, an Austrian-bom tennis pro who still teaches at Sanctu­ary, explains. "But he was also fond of saying that there's plenty of time during the day to play tennis. Evenings are meant to be civi­lized, have a cocktail, a good meal, and enjoy friends."

Gardiner's feature event was the an­nual Senator's Cup, a charity tournament between Democratic and RepubUcan con­gressmen back when ideologically different politicians socialized together. Merv Griffin served as master of ceremonies and the fes­tivities included an auction of celebrity-do­nated items. Over its 20-year existence, the tournament raised $4 million, which went to Hospice of the Valley, where Gardiner's wife died in 1977, The organization named a pal-Uative care unit the Gardiner Home in 1994.

Gardiner offered clinics at resorts across the country and opened a Tennis Ranch in 1987 at what is now the Enchantment Resort in Sedona. He sold his portion of the Para­dise Valley resort m 1993. The property went through several name changes until, after a complete renovation, it reopened as Sanctu­ary on Camelback Mountain in 2001. Guests can still play tennis on five DecoTurf courts.

Gardiner passed away in 2000 at the age of 82, but his impact is not forgotten.

He was posthumously inducted into the U.S. Tennis Association Southwest Hall of Fame in 2013. "We had a great turnout and you could feel the weight of Gardiner's rep­utation at the ceremony, listening to aU he'd done and the many people he'd touched," says Jeff" Sikes, USTA Communications Manager. "He really was one of the true pio­neers of the tennis resort concept, and his name was synonymous with the sport, espe -cially here in Arizona."

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