History of the Alan Fleming Tennis Tournament

The 38th Alan Fleming Senior Open Clay Court Championship, held at the Seabrook Island Racquet Club , was recently voted for the third time, "South Carolina Adult Tournament of the Year." This is a National Level 1 State Championship Mixed-Doubles Event as well as a South Carolina State Level 3 tournament with more than 40 events including singles, doubles, and mixed doubles. Age categories for both men and women range from 30 years old to over 80 years. For the eighth year the Fleming is hosting the Mixed Doubles National Level 1 (Gold Ball) event. This competition is worth 1,000 points to those players.

The tournament was originally established in 1981 as the Seabrook Island Senior Tennis Tournament under the leadership of Seabrook resident Alan Fleming. Before moving to Seabrook Island with wife Sally, Alan had been a nationally ranked tennis player whose resume included matches played at Forest Hills, the precursor to the U.S. Open. Alan was a NJ State champion and a National Father-Son champion with son Peter. Alan was often ranked #1 in his age group in both New Jersey and South Carolina.

Another vital figure in the development and growth of the tournament was Alan's close friend, the late Tom Kent, also a tennis aficionado and Seabrook Island resident. From the start, Alan Fleming was the first property owner chair, and for the first eight years he and Tom Kent were co-chairs of the tournament. The tournament ran continuously until Hurricane Hugo forced a two-year hiatus in 1989. In the 1990s, Kent was either chair or co-chair of the tournament, and avidly promoted it to national prominence.

Love of tennis went far back in Alan Fleming's and Tom Kent's family lives. Tom played on tennis teams all through high school, college, and while serving in the Navy, as well as during his years at Columbia Law School. Once he joined the world of work, he played NJ League matches every weekend as a member of a small tennis/squash club - the Racquets Club of Short Hills. It was this club that Tom met Alan and Sally Fleming, and where their son, Peter Fleming, got his start. Peter was instrumental in bringing Alan and then Tom to Seabrook Island.

Many of us may remember that Peter Fleming became a tennis professional in the early 1980s and then became Seabrook Island Club's touring pro. But it was with his doubles partner, John McEnroe, that Peter made tennis history. Together, Peter Fleming and John McEnroe won more than 50 doubles titles including 4 at Wimbledon and 3 at the U.S. Open. When Peter was the touring pro here on Seabrook Island, Roscoe Tanner was the touring pro at Kiawah. To promote both islands as tennis meccas, they played exhibition matches against one another. The story goes that if they played at Kiawah, Roscoe would win in 3 sets and Peter would triumph by the same score if they played on Seabrook Island. From Tom's son we learn that Peter brought his parents down to stay in his Tree Loft Villa thinking it would be a perfect retirement place for his Dad to play tennis all year round - which is exactly what happened. And a year later Alan invited Tom Kent and his wife Ann to the island. As it happens to so many visitors and now residents, before leaving Seabrook Island they were hooked and moved here as soon as possible., And the rest, as they, is history.