♪♪ ♪♪♪ Sophia Ray: The Redondos were a great family.

To me, they were just--you know, there's this fantastic tennis family, very cohesive, loving.

They had--they did fun things besides tennis, because that's something like, we only did tennis, you know?

So for me, it was really great that they did other things besides tennis.

That was really special.

Walter Redondo: It was my grandmother.

She was the one for sure that got us to start playing tennis.

Hiroko Ray: You know, you want to be accepted in this country.

That's all she wanted.

It's not love that you want.

You want to be accepted as a person, and she wasn't, so she wanted--she had a strong desire to make it through tennis.

Marita Redondo: On the circuit, there were so few Asians.

You know, there's so much talent there.

They just don't karaoke, you know?

[laughs] Joel Drucker: To look at the Redondos and the whole tapestry of tennis as a family, and what they brought to the game and what they continue to bring to the game is to understand the intriguing duality of tennis.

It's a solitary, lonely sport in the battle, but when you look at what it takes for the player to get there, be there, there's this whole family underpinning that's overlooked.

Tracy Austin: Mom and Dad were working, and so they couldn't do this every day after school and take the kids to Morley Field, get the practice in, come home, get them fed, get the homework done, boom, do it all again next day and the next day and the next day, so Mamita was the driving force.

Hiroko: Mamita made time.

I mean, every single day she was at the Balboa Tennis Club, really.

Skip Redondo: It was fun.

I enjoyed it then.

I wasn't thinking about winning.

I was just thinking about having fun and being with the family, and you know, I was trying to win, but I enjoyed it better.

Geoff Griffin: There's now eight living siblings.

Ronnie died about five years ago, but everyone is a part of sports, and especially a part of tennis, all of them.

Ryan Redondo: My uncle Walter would bring a homeless person that he would pick up off the side of the street, and they would sit at the table with us, or he or she, and it--they just became another family member in that sense eating dinner with us.

Marita: Walter would bring--who knows, he would just bring some stranger, and everybody just treated them exactly like they were part of the family.

Walter: I would bring people over and, I know that--I think it's just hopefully a way of being able to show them that, you know, we're in this all together.

Gina Redondo: This is dated-- I wanna do this one first because it's kinda like the letter to the family.

It's dated August the 13th, 1973.

"In loving memory of Grandma Castado.

To some, she was known as Mrs.

Sophia Castado, but to her many friends and the youngsters at the Folsom Tennis Center, she will always be known as Grandma or Mamita."

♪♪♪ "She was a Christian, a friend, wife, mother, grandmother, great grandmother, chauffeur, cook, lunch server, coach, hairdresser, disciplinarian, and many more.

Hiroko: She had a muumuu, the Hawaiian dress, and then had always--she never had tennis shoes on, that I remember.

Always had sandals.

Sophia: She was sort of this presence, and she was Mamita, you know?

She didn't have to say much, she didn't really have to do much, and she had an incredible presence.

You know, I guess it's like a stage presence.

She--you know, a very, very good actor can just sit there and be mesmerizing, and I think she had a sense of who she was.

Just one of these matriarchal, strong women that don't have to say much, but everybody sort of understands what they're supposed to do when they're around her.

Roseanne Redondo: Yes, there was discipline, but you know, I can't even recall where she ever raised her voice at us.

She was just very quiet.

Skip: When we were little, we-- well, we had two houses.

I don't know if you knew that.

We had one house where Rose and Gina lived with my mom and dad because we were so big, and then the other house was where Marita and Walter and everybody lived over there, and myself, and that's the reason why we're so strong, because we do everything together.

Vicky, you can do that.

I don't mean it's just gonna happen.

What we'll tell them-- speaker: We'll just ask them.

Skip: We'll just tell them to keep the ball in play, not to go out and hit winners.

Mita, you're gonna play three points, but you can't-- Walter, Walter, take it easy on Mita.

Keep the ball in play, run her around.

Marita: I think for one, nine kids: where do you keep them all together and out of trouble?

And it was tennis.

We all ended up playing tennis, and she was the disciplined one in keeping us in line, making sure we were always practicing.

Gina: Why tennis?

I never--I don't know if any of us know why tennis, and why Helen Wills Moody.

speaker: This chapter, Miss Poker Face, the story of Helen Wills.

Helen Wills, her racket brought her everlasting fame.

Hailed as a champion, she was misunderstood as a person.

The world thought of her as cold and proud.

People never knew the feeling she concealed.

Skip: She loved the way she played, and she wanted the grandchildren to be as--you know, to play tennis like her.

Marita: She did, she had a vision of what she wanted, and her dream was Helen Wills, and she--I think she was hoping that she'd have one of those Helen Wills players.

Gina: I don't know if it was the skirts and whatever she wore back then because they-- and it's like-- Yeah, it could have been, and maybe because she was from the United States, and because look at what she's achieved.

speaker: Tennis opened many doors.

During these years, Helen played with the great and famous, with the Bishop of London, with Sweden's tennis playing monarch King Gustaf, with the Japanese Davis Cup star Tamio Abe.

America was proud of Miss Poker Face.

She demonstrated her tennis strokes for the slow motion movie camera.

Her perfectly timed forehand smash... Walter: I think Mamita's motivation was to obviously get us into something healthy, something that she loved, and-- as she loved Helen Wills Moody, but I think to keep the family together.

I think she was able to speak into our lives through the sport and be such an amazing encourager and influence in the way that she was able to communicate her own desire, and the way that she saw things, and the way that she would influence our thinking.

It was a pretty magical way that she could do these things.

Bob Ray: They lived in National City, and Morley Field was in North Park.

They had to get there, and she took them.

She loaded up her station wagon and brought them daily.

You know, it wasn't an occasional thing.

She, it was--she had the determination.

Roseanne: Mamita took on the role of driving because no one else drove in the family.

She had, I believe, two or three station wagons that we always loaded into.

My mom didn't drive.

My dad was always in the service.

He was overseas and so forth.

[crowd cheering] speaker: Set!

After all those long rallies, what a simple way to end it.

speaker: And what a nice gesture on Chris Lloyd's part: shook her hand and patted her on the head to congratulate Tracy Austin, who is the youngest woman ever to win this championship, age 16.

Tracy: My coach when I was a little girl, Robert Lansdorp, prior to that was coaching Walter down at Morley Field, and I was going to go down to play a tournament down at Morley Field.

So Robert said, "You know what, I've got this great family down there.

They've got loads of kids.

They've got this terrific grandmother that's so engaged, she loads everybody up in the station wagon, takes them over to Morley Field.

They play their matches, they all go home together, and you would fit right in."

My mom said--and I didn't know any of this was happening, but my mom said, "That sounds great, let's do it."

And so somehow I got a ride down to San Diego.

Mamita, the grandmother, met her.

Lovely woman, loved her right from the moment I met her.

So warm, so--just so kind and engaging.

Loved tennis, so it's perfect.

Joel: Morley Field was kind of like this cafe society of tennis, of people coming, enjoying themselves, hanging out.

Xochi Ray: Even though it has the name Balboa Tennis Club, it's always been a public facility.

There were no fences or gates that enclosed the facility, so you know, every walk of life was walking through that whether they had anything to do with tennis or not.

Jean Kremm: In fact, the tournament desk--I'll never forget this.

The tournament desk underneath it was all open, and I was there about 6 o'clock one morning, and there was a homeless person lying down inside, so then they had to fill that all in.

male: One, two, three, four!

[crowd cheering and applauding] Sophia: Morley Fields was the place that attracted everybody, and you could be anything there.

There was a man there who just decided for 10 years not to talk, and he just wrote everything.

His name was John, I think John?

I don't know.

Anyway, he just--I don't even know how I know his name, but he had a chalkboard or a piece of paper, and he just wrote everything down, and that's how he communicated.

He didn't talk, and then one day he just started talking.

I don't know why.

There was another guy who never shampooed his hair, and he was very, very clear--and he had beautiful hair, and he's like, "I never shampoo my hair."

I just--I mean, these are little things you remember as a little kid.

We had a woman who was sleeping up on the roof.

There was another woman who was German who always wanted to sit in the women's room all naked, and you know, you just--you know, there she was naked, and that was just how it was.

Joel: Tennis communities thrive when people are able to play with lots of people lots of ways on lots of courts in many situations, and places like Morley Field in San Diego, Golden Gate Park in San Francisco, these are like organic breeding grounds for people to enjoy tennis and play around the clock.

This is also in periods like the '50s, '60s, and '70s.

A lot more latitude for children to just be at parks all day.

I mean, childhood wasn't as programmed as it later became, so I think kids would just hang out at the park, play with all different people.

Tracy: Parents these days, they're on their kids, and watching their matches.

They might have a coach there for the junior tournaments.

I mean, it's over the top.

And me, it was like, "Go down to San Diego, play your matches.

I'll see you on Sunday night."

Hiroko: Everybody--like, a lot of parents left all the kids all day long.

They all had fun being around with--you know, it's just a nice place to grow up.

Bob: In the day that Walter developed, probably Morley Field was as good as anything.

There were players there that pushed him.

Walter: The uniqueness about Morley Field obviously was a hub of where players were really being developed, and I'd be watching Skip or Gina or whomever was taking lessons at the time.

You know, after they were done taking lessons, I remember being able to walk on the court.

You know, obviously I was picking up balls at times as well, but when it came to my time, you know, it was like I was like all of a sudden very absorbed.

♪♪♪ Bob: But when I saw Walter play, it excited me.

I mean, I've never seen anybody that young that good.

He's an artist, and you can see it in his game that he creates beauty.

In addition to making the shot, he does it gracefully.

Xochi: Just watch Walter.

Listen to how he talks about tennis, but watch him.

Watch him play and you'll see how good it can be.

Walter: Well, what am I supposed to say except thank God?

Joel: Walter Redondo had a great many tools that he'd learned and and taught and refined.

He also had this je ne sais quoi to his game, this kind of spark, and I think it came from a certain kind of freedom to the way Walter played the game that was very evocative.

People like Roger Federer and Rod Laver, and some of the stuff they like to say, "Oh, that can't be taught, but I think it can be learned."

Walter just had a beauty, and it kind of--shots flew off his racket, and he generated power, and it was free and loose and easy.

Geoff: It was so talented, and Marita, same kind of person: nice as can be, but she had a killer forehand, so that--she made it on the tour.

I know she was top 10 in the world, so.

Marita: It's hard to say as far as worldwide because people who did the research on me, some say I was 9, some say I was 10, some say I was 12, so we can pick between that.

speaker: Here we go, Marita Redondo leading off.

And a winner!

Marita: I played Wimbledon, the French Open, the US Open, so I played major tournaments.

Virginia Slims I did well.

So nationwide, I was fifth in the nation in the women's.

Xochi: If you could have had a reality TV show that started, you know, 30-40 years ago with the Redondos, it would have been an amazing experience because there's family dynamics that are constantly pushing and pulling, and there's all this love there, but you know, these are big personalities in this family.

All the Redondos have big personalities.

speaker: Tell us about being a Charlie's Angel.

Marita: Oh my gosh, sorry.

How did you know about "Charlie's Angels"?

speaker: Once upon a time, there were three little girls who went to the police academy.

[gunshots firing] ♪♪♪ speaker: Playing with Carrie Jo is Carmita Medina, twice Mexican champ and a welcome newcomer to the circuit.

[tennis ball thumping] speaker: That's blowing it, champ!

Marita: Don't let him get to you.

speaker: Whatever happened to washing and ironing?

Marita: Maybe you'd like to play us ladies again, smart mouth.

Marita: "Charlie's Angels."

Let's see, I was playing on the circuit then.

They were doing "Love, Set, Death"?

And because of being out of Southern California and doing well as far as my ranking and playing, they offered me a spot with some other tennis players I knew, so that was fun.

speaker: What's the matter?

Carmita, what's the matter?

Are you asleep?

[gasps] ♪♪♪ Tammy Redondo: I remember when I was younger learning how to play, I took with Robert Lansdorp, and I remember I was really shy back then, and he always wanted to teach me how to keep score, and I would run away.

I didn't want to be out there on the tennis court with him to learn how to keep score.

speaker: Considered intimidating by some, even those on the receiving end of Robert's gruff demeanor concede that was part of what allowed him to get the most out of each and every player he coached.

Shelly Redondo: We start off with Wilbur Folsom, and then we went to Bob Ray.

He did a lot of drilling with us, and then Robert Lansdorp was the one that took over after that.

Walter: I think tennis really gave me the ability to work hard, and I think this is where I'm very grateful for Robert Lansdorp, who was really a mentor in my life at the time, and whom I needed.

Taught me that work ethic is going to bring a lot of great things.

Tammy: Because we knew Walter and Marita was playing on the circuit, and financially it was tough for all of us to go on the circuit, we never thought about playing on the circuit.

Shelly: Well, of course you gotta pay for the tournament fees to get into a tournament.

Tennis lessons, how-- the hotels expenses.

Gina: It was a rich man's sport, it really was, and so she figured, "If this is the game that I love that I'm passing on to my grandchildren, how am I going to do this?

How am I gonna compete against the rich man?"

You know, we talk about how Mamita always had to pick up cans.

Well, you know, she picked up cans because it paid for tennis lessons, it paid for our rackets, it paid for our tennis shoes.

Roseanne: You know, whatever penny she had she sacrificed for us.

Like, I'm sure the others have spoken about the cans and the newspapers, and so forth.

Gina: And people would find cans and save them for her.

There was no shame, no embarrassment, although I think on our part we were embarrassed because there she goes again rummaging through.

Sophia: So they ate a lot of rice with ketchup, and that's something--you know, my mom's Japanese, we do not eat rice with ketchup, so it was very special to eat rice with ketchup, and I actually really liked eating rice with ketchup.

Tracy: Mamita cooked rice by the boatload every day, lots of rice everywhere.

John Redondo: My grandfather, he would always tell us the story of when he went to join the Navy.

He went into the office to join and he had no shoes on.

When I imagine like what he had in the Philippines, which sounds like not much, and for him to-- you know, to try to get here and create what he's created for all of us is--it's pretty special.

Marita: Everybody was supporting each other to make our lives work, our childhood, just, you know, to be able to accomplish what we did.

Walter: In regards to the finances of being out there and not having a lot of it, you know, I'm at the age where I'm just oblivious to it all.

The only thing that I'm looking to is go have some fun, play, and get on the court and really just improve.

Tammy: There's so much pressure because you're now teaching.

It was up to us to work, and tennis was my thing.

Walter: I know that as we advanced in the game and we started winning tournaments, that's when San Diego stepped up and then started to fund the players that were kind of at the top.

And so we were fortunate enough to always be right there at the very top where they saw potential in us.

Marita: I remember getting letters, and I probably still have some letters 'til this day from Wilson.

They were my first contract, and then I think it was Adidas and Head following that one.

For once, my grandmother or someone else in the family didn't have to buy all this equipment, so yeah, exciting to get your first contract and get some money from it instead of having to put out for equipment.

Now they're starting to bring it in.

Walter: My first racket would probably be a Jack Kramer.

I think everybody used a Jack Kramer at the time.

I remember Mamita, if I dropped it or if I hit it on the ground, she let me know that racket is something that you need to really take care of.

It's your treasure.

You need to really understand that this can take you places.

Marita: To know I finally fulfilled a dream that I had a goal, and not only the goal for myself, my grandmother's goal.

Finally, she got to see someone turn pro, and I was the first one.

Back then, you couldn't turn pro till you were 18 then, and so exciting just to see it all and to experience a crowd around you.

Walter: So at night, Mamita would come into my room probably right before I was falling asleep, and she would come in, and she would sit next to my bed, and she would say, "Walter, you're going to be a champion."

And she would repeat this a few times, and then she would leave, then I'd fall asleep.

And she would repeatedly do this almost every night.

I recall just always being concerned about losing Mamita.

Tammy: So we were all in a tournament and we all got to the semis, and the ambulance came.

And they said, "Keep playing, you know," and then they brought her to the hospital.

Tracy: I heard that she had a heart attack while she was on those bleachers at Morley Field, and of course, that was heartbreaking for me.

It was the first person that I knew that had passed away that I cared about so much, sorry.

It's always hard.

speaker: When we talk about Mamita's passing, you are usually mentioned first.

Something--it changed the trajectory of your life a little bit.

Walter: Yeah.

speaker: Can you speak to that?

Walter: Wow.

speaker: How did your trajectory change with Mamita's passing?

Walter: I think I recognized her heart at giving so much to all of us.

The impact was not just on the court, but it was-- ♪♪♪ ♪♪♪ I'm sorry.

♪♪♪ ♪♪♪ Recognizing that my heart really was no longer throbbing to please her, I think that's when it kind of turned for me.

Tracy: It's the what if.

What would Walter have done?

Marita would have continued to be a great player, and maybe the trajectory would have continued to go up, but I think it was Walter that I think people would have been curious about.

Like, where would he have been?

Like, how great could he have been?

Robert Lansdorp: And so I started getting students, and one of the students, one of my students was Walter Redondo, and everybody knows Walter Redondo.

They remember--even McEnroe I think in his book said he knew he was a tennis player after he beat Walter Redondo.

He was so good, and sometimes I think he was so good that did-- he gave me that much confidence that I knew what I was doing was actually the right thing, you know what I'm saying?

Joel: So Mamita dies in 1973, and obviously that is an extremely painful moment for all of the Redondos.

They've lost their leader, their spiritual leader, their avatar, their cheerleader, their supporter, their informal coach, and they all take different paths.

Walter, it deeply wounds Walter, and Marita ends up taking her path.

Marita had a brilliant pro career, I mean, as a top 20 player and right in the thick of tennis for many years, and Skip has a passion of his own that makes him wanna kind of burn with desire for the family to excel, and so he brings that to Ryan, to his son.

speaker: You had no idea this was gonna happen?

Ryan: No, I had no idea.

speaker: In 1989 at the Davis Cup.

Ryan: That is a six year old Ryan.

speaker: Ryan Redondo was asked to hit balls on center court with a professional tennis player from France.

Ryan: Yeah, he just grabbed me, grabbed a racket, and we just started hitting.

speaker: Henri Leconte was in the middle of a match with John McEnroe, who had to take a bathroom break.

Ryan: I mean, my take is when they started, they had nothing, right?

So they, my--or Mamita would go and collect cans and recycle them for balls and lessons and stuff.

So when you think about just the nature of how they started at Morley Field at the parks to where then my dad as an adult and an aspirational coach, there was probably disconnect of the realities that it takes to become the number one player in the world.

Skip: I was 23 years old when my grandmother passed away.

She taught me to be positive.

She taught me to keep going, to fulfill my dream, and that's what I did.

You know, and I saw that--I saw what she was doing with my siblings, and that's what driven--that drove me to become a successful tennis coach when I--you know.

I feel I'm a successful tennis coach.

Shelly: After my grandmother passed away, Skip drove us around, you know, to the tournaments.

Gina: And Skip took kind of-- you know, he was very positive and going straight forward into tennis, and you know, Skip had a different way of raising his children.

Ryan: Yeah, my dad was extremely passionate.

He wanted everybody to succeed no matter what, so--I mean, I remember you staying with us.

It could have been anybody.

He would accept him into our home and coach him, and always wanted the next Redondo Wimbledon champion or something.

So if I think about it, like Grandma and Mamita--probably Mamita, right?

I think she probably envisioned all of her grandkids becoming the first, like, Filipino champions, right?

speaker: Helen was 17 years old, a kid facing one of the great players of the time.

Nervous?

Of course she was, but her fears were repressed.

With no sign of emotion, she defeated Mrs.

Mallory in a tremendous upset.

Then and there, Helen Wills received her nickname Miss Poker Face, because champions must not show weakness.

Xochi: Tennis is a gladiator sport, and if you don't have someone sitting on the side of the ring telling you you're going to be fine, that can be really hard.

Walter: I think it really got to the point where when I was struggling and I wasn't sharing with anybody because I felt like I needed to protect myself, and I didn't want anybody to understand that I was actually quite frightened.

Joel: Walter's number one in the 16s in '74, and that's pretty good, and he's still riding the momentum of all that love and all that community that was the Redondo family, but maybe by '75, I think that's the year he finishes 11 in the country in the 18s, and that's like kind of jarring to Walter.

Now granted, you can't imagine how good a tennis player you are to be 11 in the country in 18s, but on the other hand, if you've been an A student, you get your first B, you're kind of jarred.

Ryan: Talent can only take you so far.

Grit can only take you so far.

There are a few other things that really have to align to really make it and become a successful tennis player.

Marita: Coming to Bob Ray and his shop, and she used to watch their kids-- speaker: Yo, Walter!

[laughing] speaker: You know this guy?

speaker: This is the guy who can beat John McEnroe.

[laughter] Yeah, when they were young, right?

Geoff: Well, Walter, his kindness killed him.

I mean, he--everybody knows that he is just too nice to be, you know, to be a fiery competitor.

♪♪♪ John McEnroe: I was playing a guy named Walter Redondo, a 17-year-old who was a 5'10" 14-year-old, had beaten me badly a couple of years before in the national 14 and unders.

Walter was a sort of Hawaiian-looking Hispanic kid from California.

He had a beautiful game.

His serve, volley, and ground strokes were all picture perfect.

John: You can't be serious, man.

You cannot be serious!

That ball was on the line.

John: A lot of people thought he'd be the next big star in tennis.

As it turned out, he had peaked both in height and in skill at 14.

Geoff: You said McEnroe?

Yeah, he was just not a nice person, and he'd be the first to admit it.

I mean, he was nasty.

That was not Walter.

Walter: I'm at Wimbledon.

I'm playing my last round of qualifying, playing Erik van Dillen, but I remember being on the court and competing, and I'd started recognizing for myself that the calls were going one way a little bit more than normal, and I started questioning the umpire to some degree.

And so I didn't understand what was going on until after the match, and the--I went to shake the umpire's hand, and that's when he said, you know, "I've come across a lot of kids like you.

You know, they should be sweeping the streets."

And I just basically said, "What?"

And that's something that, again, just shocked me.

Xochi: They definitely stood out as a family, like, fairly dark skinned.

So I can imagine just how difficult that kind of racism, you know, certainly going to a place like Wimbledon where there's no, you know, greater tradition in tennis, and it's largely a white tradition.

Ryan: It's a tough one to say, but it's just there.

And you can pinpoint certain times, and you hate to say, "Oh, that's because of that," but when it's so many times and it happens a lot, you just start to assume things, and you just get back out there and continue to work hard.

Skip: I thought, you know, I thought maybe I put some pressure on him, but you know, it was the weirdest thing because my grandmother used to say that to me.

When I would go to bed, she would always say, "You're gonna be a great tennis player," and I just said that to Ryan because he was--when he was a junior, he was the number--he was 2 in the world, and then he was the number one player in junior tennis when he was young.

Now, I'm not saying now, but when he was young, so I felt that he could maybe win the US Open.

Skip: Keep it in play.

Hit the ball a little bit deeper.

Get that step in.

Ryan: So the thing that was consistent in my life was hard work, right?

So if we lived in Ojai, or if we lived in Fallbrook, or if we lived in Leucadia, what my day to day is I was on the court if I wasn't in school.

And so I jumped from independent study to an academy to a regular high school, but the day to day was you were on court every single day to be ready for the next event, to travel, to--just to get better.

So we moved constantly.

And for--if you look back, I went to 14 different schools, four high schools.

I never actually got to be around the Redondo family.

You know, for my personal sake and my sisters and my mom, moving around because you have an aspirational, very dedicated, hardworking dad was hard, but I think the--you know, the great thing about it is we had our grandparents that set values that we all lived by.

John: Right, it's funny how like, how many schools we both have gone to.

Between us both, we've probably went to like 26 different schools growing up.

Ryan: Probably, I think so.

John: I mean, we moved around a lot too, but it was within like San Diego County, but that's crazy to think, right?

Like, I don't remember my mom as being like the professional tennis player and being on the road with her, so it's funny like when--like, even when I'd be playing tournaments and she'd give me advice, and I'd go, like, why is she giving me advice?

And I go, oh yeah, she was a professional tennis player, and it--and you know, I would forget at times how great she was, and then I'd have to take that advice and apply it to what I'm doing.

Marita: We didn't get to go to like a lot of the football games or to the movies or dances.

We dedicated ourselves a lot to our sport.

Robert: Discipline is a huge factor.

It's not--I'm not brutal, but I'm using that discipline to make the kid do things that he or she thinks they cannot do, and I think that discipline is a huge thing.

Make your child understand how to concentrate.

Make them understand how to focus.

Make them understand how to do the same thing over and over and over.

Marita: And were there sacrifices?

Probably a little bit more on my siblings's side because I was already achieving what I wanted, and so take second--so they take second, like a step behind me maybe for a little bit until I was able to blossom and move on, then it was their time.

Tammy: But I teach at Rancho Peñasquitos Tennis Club.

Actually, I just found out that--I was looking at some articles my sister sent me or gave me, and I can't believe I've been teaching there since 1983, and I said, "43 years," I guess?

I'm shocked.

I was like, I've been telling people 22 years.

I didn't realize how long I've been teaching tennis.

Skip: You know, I used to teach like from 9 o'clock to 9 o'clock at night, you know, straight through, but now because I'm older, I'm kind of easing up a little bit, but I enjoy working and seeing success from all the kids.

What they do, like, my--that's my trophy, and that's why I'm driven to that because I wanna create a best player as I can.

You know, all the players that I work with.

♪♪♪ Walter: I think Skip loves teaching.

He loves communicating.

I think after a while, decided-- once he wanted to go play tennis, it may have been too late for him to actually maybe possibly take the chance at going pro.

So I think just like Tammy, you know, they found themselves in a place where, "Well, I can make this happen as a teacher.

I can guide my son and he can be the player."

I just think that Skip wanted the best for Ryan and wanted to give him as much as he could through something that he had learned that was an amazing sport.

Ryan: They're reflecting on, am I following in the same footsteps?

Am I gonna be tied to a tennis basket teaching tennis my whole life because I wasn't number one in the world or I didn't make it, right?

So I--so for me, I fell in love with coaching for different reasons than I think my father did or my family does.

Yet, there's just that internal struggle constantly of, am I always looking for results, right, or am I trying to transform and just serve?

And so the struggle is very internal and personal for me that, you know, I have to stay really grounded in what I'm doing and the choices that I'm making.

speaker: Do you remember being nervous?

Ryan: I do.

speaker: Yeah, there was Ryan chasing one ball deep into the court.

Look at this.

Oh, the back end.

Eventually, John McEnroe returned to center court.

Ryan: Yeah, here comes McEnroe.

He's probably like, "What's going on here?"

speaker: Ryan's big moment was covered by ESPN, and that's not all.

Ryan: So I got sponsored by Nike as a 6-year-old.

speaker: He also grew up to become an All-American tennis player at San Diego State and more.

Ryan: So I coached college tennis for 14 years.

speaker: Ryan is now the CEO of Youth Tennis San Diego, a nonprofit that reaches out to thousands of kids.

Ryan: So the struggle that I currently have and what I'm always--the solutions that I'm trying to find are pathways and access.

That's the machine that's been built through the USTA, through the way that we have to--we in the tennis industry has to quote, unquote "make it," or to get a college scholarship.

It's very exclusive, right?

You have to have funding, or you have to have a lot of people being able to back you, or you have to have nonprofits like Youth Tennis San Diego that can scholarship these kids or provide the access.

Joel: The game is vastly different than it is in 1973.

The infrastructure, the money, the other countries, the challenges.

It's a different--there's different desired outcomes in Ryan's time.

They've crystallized.

It's clear this is the IPO stage.

I mean, the game is business and money and lots of countries and lots of travel and lots of desires.

♪♪♪ ♪♪♪ Morgan Riddle: This is the bedroom that we were staying in, and they gifted us all-- ♪♪♪ ♪♪♪ Tracy: So when I first started, when the Redondos first started, there wasn't the $5 million prize money that you're gonna get at the US Open if you win the title.

So there are so many people these days, so many families, so many kids, so many parents that I think start with that in line, and then they go backwards.

Joel: It's a way of professionalizing childhood.

It's turning childhood into a vocational experience and saying, "Do this really well, and you will save us money."

That is not what Mamita was about.

Mamita's mission I don't think was ever had to do with, "We're gonna make money from this."

Tennis is a way to be held in regard.

Ryan: It's been forever.

How are you?

speaker: Good.

Ryan: Ready for tennis?

speaker: Yeah.

Ryan: What's up?

How was your first day of school?

speaker: It was fun.

Ryan: It was fun?

Ryan: As the CEO of Youth Tennis San Diego and the Barnes Tennis Center, my goal is to provide access.

My goal is to be of service so that others have the opportunities to become who they want to be.

So the goal is to be self-sufficient.

Like, I wanna fundraise.

I'm creating projects in order to create the pathways, and we can send kids all over the world if we could.

We can give them free coaching.

We need to create more centers for kids and community to go to, and if we can do that internally, and we will, then we're going to make a huge change.

Skip: Look at how successful Ryan is.

He's the CEO for Barnes Tennis Center.

My daughter's the CEO for the USTA Northern California, and that's why they're driven.

They will--they like that successful--I mean, they're tennis players, and this is the thing, too, what I like about tennis.

Tennis teaches you how to become strong and driven, you know, because you wanna win.

♪♪♪ ♪♪♪ Ryan: What I think people think of my family, and I agree with, is I think they think they're a very rich family, rich not in terms of money and means, but in terms of connectedness and love.

Behind that is a lot of hard work, a lot of struggle, a lot of burnout, a lot of having to recreate yourself over and over again in a way to continue to succeed.

speaker: Marita likes hitting forehand so much, she moves over to her backhand corner and leaves the forehand corner exposed, and Chris spots it time and time again.

speaker: Against Chris Evert, and it goes!

speaker: Game, set, and match, Chris Evert!

6-1, 6-2.

And Redondo comes forward.

speaker: Chris Evert moving along.

speaker: 6-1, 6-2.

Marita: It was--I think it was easy for me to step away.

I was really happy with what I had done and achieved.

Maybe a little bit more I could have done, but I had my kids.

They came into play, and they were my life.

I would just do anything for them, and I think not only does someone have to have that passion for what they do, but also the support behind them to carry that passion all the way through, and I hope I'm the one person that can help them with that.

John: I mean, I think she enjoyed that time that she had, but it's funny because most people wouldn't even know that she played professional tennis, and even like I said, even sometimes I forget.

You know, at that time, we went from being--her being really like really successful to her having to all of a sudden coach full time, and being like a full-time mom and taking care of the family, and life kind of changed at that point.

Walter: I think that's something that is carried by a lot of players.

I know for myself, I certainly did carry it.

You know, how do you get to the next tournament?

That whole understanding that if I don't do well enough this week, you just don't make enough.

Geoff: He dominated all through the juniors, so he was dominating to that level, but then the pro level just was a little too much.

It really ended Walter's career.

He just didn't have it, but he's still, even today, he's a great tennis player, and now he's working with some top juniors, so--when he's not doing art.

Yeah, so he's still in the game.

Joel: I wrote an article about Walter a number of years ago, and it explored kind of the then and now part of Walter, that then when he was this accomplished junior surely on the path to great, great tennis things to come, and then I explored the after, it's like, well, that didn't quite happen, but what did happen?

And what I found most fulfilling about that story was taking in Walter's eternal love for his family and what this game meant to him and them, and he'd been through a lot to maybe reach that point.

I mean, he had some periods where he was kind of questioning what had happened and why things went this way, and why things go that way, the way many people would--particularly one who's touted, who's told by others, "Look what you might be," and then you end up being something else, and Walter's a brilliant, dazzling artist, a beloved person.

Mamita, you see, look what you did.

You imbued this youngster-- you're part of imbuing this youngster with some passion, creativity, and that's come out in his artwork.

speaker: In her new home, Helen had a studio where she could devote herself to painting.

She had studied art in college.

Now she went at it seriously, quickly winning a reputation as an artist.

To Helen, painting soon became almost as important as tennis.

At long last, a practical use for those tennis cups she'd won.

Ryan: When you're a child of a coach, whether that's your father or your mother, the demands on the family are great.

So your father, your mother is going to become the father or mother of lots of other people, and their time is taken away.

Skip: Don't pull the shoulder, Ryan.

Good.

You know, I had a bypass when I was 50 years old, and now I just had stents put in me two years ago, and I just thank God every time I wake up in the morning.

I look at the trees and everything.

I always thank God that I'm alive and I got to be--I'm still with my family.

Like, my grandson who plays for the San Diego soccer team, the whole families are watching him play, so that's the way it is in our family.

Like, whoever's playing a match, we're all there and we're supporting each other.

Oscar Verhoeven: Okay, here we go.

Lock in, Oscar.

My name is Oscar Verhoeven, and I'm a professional soccer player for San Diego FC.

♪♪♪ My mother is Summer Redondo, so Skip Redondo is my grandfather.

Growing up, we would see my grandpa at the courts all the time and just competing.

I was playing multiple sports.

I was playing tennis, I was playing baseball, I was playing soccer, swam a little bit.

You know, played basketball every day in middle school, but it got to a time where I really dedicated all my athletic abilities to soccer.

I think the biggest thing is having a strong work ethic for sure, and I think that's what-- is one of the biggest things that the Redondo family has given me.

♪♪♪ ♪♪♪ Ryan: I actually taught a lot with my father.

There were times when he actually had a quadruple bypass surgery, so I stepped in to keep lessons and income coming in for the family.

For most of us, it's been a struggle with money in the sense that we don't--necessarily in the industry, you don't make a ton of money, right, but you give a ton of yourself to create something.

Probably people don't look at it as, "Wow, those people are really struggling," or, "That family really had to struggle and work their tails off to get where they are," and we do.

I mean, Redondos, they work really hard.

Gina: I just treasure these.

It's just exciting.

Look at how beautiful she was.

Here she is.

I don't know who these guys were, all of them, but this says, "The date of my arrival in San Francisco, California, September 29, 1927."

How many people can say "I arrived"--how many immigrants that came to the United States has a picture like this and say, "I arrived here," and she was so proud of it.

Geoff: Their family has just brought--I think they've inspired--who knows how many countless people they've inspired, kids and adults?

What Ryan's done over at Barnes is he's turned that place around.

speaker: Holy cow, famous Redondo family, you mean.

We all work for Ryan.

Ryan: Yeah, good to see you, coach.

speaker: Bye.

Ryan: I'll catch you.

Ryan: So in tennis, you have to have all of these tournaments enable to progress through this pathway, so that's a struggle, I mean, for anybody in my position that's trying to at a mass level bring access, and that then starts at the grassroots level of a park.

We're working with the city, and we're trying to get access to provide free programming for kids that don't have that opportunity.

We're also providing free programs in affluent areas so that kids have, you know, are exposed to the sport, and you get the city saying, "No, you can't have access to these courts," or, "We're going to charge you X amount of dollars" when, you know, you're doing good and you're trying to bring good.

And so, that struggle for me is very real.

♪♪♪ John: See that?

This is why he wins all the time because I got the balls in the net here.

So that was--I haven't hit with Ryan in quite a while, and just being able to be out there and with him, and seeing him out there and just grooving, and not having to go, "Oh, you didn't hit your forehand properly, or, "You didn't do this," just not thinking and just rallying and feeling like that rhythm and, like, energy.

♪♪♪ ♪♪♪ Ryan: The risk is required.

So anytime you want to be, in my opinion, a champion, you're going to do champion level things.

When you want to lead a mass of people and help transform, you have to take risks to do that, but there's got to be some balance.

Another reflection I can't--I do have all the time is, am I following in the same exact footsteps as my father?

Am I doing the same things or making those same choices?

Marita: The goal I had in my life is to be able to play with the Virginia Slims, and I did it.

[crowd cheering] 1976, am I aging myself now?

You know, you're nervous, but do you want your opponent to know that you are?

So you always put--well, for me, put this facade on, and it got me through my matches.

It made you focus.

speaker: While the crowd cheered, one of the great comebacks of all time.

It was worth all the pain of her injury and despair of being misunderstood by the public.

Yes, there would be other triumphs, but from that moment, Helen Wills Moody belonged among the immortals of tennis forever.

speaker: Would you say that it worked?

I mean, I would say that they are very much held in regard.

However, if you look at it in terms of how it all ended and success and monetary success, did it work?

Joel: I think Mamita would be very happy to know that the Redondos have made a name for themselves in tennis in some very distinct ways that involve teaching and community and coaching, and all these ways of being part of the tennis community.

It's easy to conflate the desired outcomes, particularly when tennis goes open, that where are the Redondo--why didn't the Redondos, why didn't more of them win Wimbledon?

They were so good as juniors, then what happened?

But I don't think that's fair to what the vision really was meant to pan out as.

I think there's a certain purity to the love for the game that the Redondos had, so it didn't become about, "Yeah, and three of us were at Wimbledon, and four of us did this, and all of us did that."

It was something else, and it just--you know, the ball bounces as it's meant to bounce.

♪♪♪ ♪♪♪ ♪♪♪ ♪♪♪ ♪♪♪ ♪♪♪ announcer: Support for this program comes from the KPBS Explore Local Content Fund, supporting new ideas and programs for San Diego.