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Board of Directors
Rosie Casals
Born and raised in San Francisco, Rosie learned to play tennis on the public courts at Golden Gate Park when she was eight years old. She rose to fame in the 60’s and 70’s entering the U.S. Women’s top 5 in 1964, where she remained for 11 consecutive years. She is a 7-time Wimbledon Doubles Champion winning 5 Women’s Doubles with Billie Jean King and 2 Mixed Doubles Titles with Ilie Nastase owning a total of 12 Grand Slam Doubles Titles. Rosie was the singles winner of the first ever Virginia Slims tournament in 1970 and one of the "Original 9." She along with Billie Jean King fought for equal prize money for women and were the founders of the Women’s Professional Tour and Women’s Tennis Association in 1973.
Rosie was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame in 1996 and again in 2021 as part of the Original 9, the first group to be ever inducted. She established her sports promotion company Sportswoman Inc. in 1982 to organize and promote charity tennis events, corporate outings, clinics, exhibitions, speaking engagements and anything having to do with tennis. She continues her entrepreneurial ventures and established the Love & Love Tennis Foundation in 2015 with good friend and Tennis pioneer Tory Fretz. The Foundation raises money to promote the growth of youth Tennis in the Coachella Valley regardless of gender or economic background.
Dan Gonzales
Son of tennis champion Richard “Pancho” Gonzalez, Dan remembers his father’s words that “it wasn’t about being #1, it was about doing the best he could do at what he loved.” Dan’s last 30 years have been just that.
Dan lives in Denver, Colorado, where he has spent 22 years at Highland Ranch Tennis Association coaching individual and team players of all ages while marking his 15th year coaching high school boys and girls tennis. He has a combined 50 years of playing, teaching, coaching and club management experience in the tennis industry, serving on the USTA Board of Directors and has chaired or served on several USTA committees.
Much like his father, Dan believes tennis is an excellent game to learn life skills, goal setting, discipline, the importance of physical activity and so much more. He further believes the sport should be made accessible for all.
Greg Gonzales
Greg Gonzales has several years of tennis instruction and related experience. The nephew of Richard “Pancho” Gonzalez, Greg has worked at several tennis clubs and shops. He published a biography on Pancho entitled Tennis Legend Pancho Gonzalez and was Associate Producer on Spike Network’s national broadcasted biography on Pancho called Pancho Gonzalez: Warrior of the Court.
Greg is excited to bring his background of collaboration with the USTA supporting multiple Hispanic tennis initiatives, and his current experience as a CPA to LATF.
Charlie Pasarell
Charlie M. Pasarell Jr. brought his passion, integrity and determination to the sport of tennis for nearly five decades; as a top amateur, professional player, founder and elected representative with the Association of Tennis Professionals (1971-2009), a philanthropist and as the Tournament Director, Chairman and former owner of the BNP Paribas Open.
In 1969 Charlie along with his good friend Arthur Ashe and Sheridan Snyder founded the National Junior tennis League (NJTL) to provide inner-city and underserved children with the opportunity to be exposed to tennis. This continues throughout the country with over 950 chapters, sharing tennis with over 275,000 children each year.
Charlie was ranked No.1 in the U.S. in 1967 and was top 10 in the world eleven times. He holds 18 Singles titles, numerous doubles titles and was an NCAA Singles & Doubles Champion in 1966 at UCLA. In 1969 Charlie Pasarell’s name was etched in Wimbledon history for playing the longest match against Pancho Gonzales, finally losing after 5 hours and two days.
As the crowning glory in his career, Charlie was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame in 2013. He is also a member of the 2012 UCLA Athletic Hall of Fame, Puerto Rico Sports Hall of Fame and the Southern California Hall of Fame.
Connie Spooner
Connie graduated from San Diego State University with a degree in Physical Education and English. She was the first woman to work as an athletic trainer in professional sports, traveling on the Women’s Tennis Association Tour for 10 years. Her professional experiences ranges from eight years as an athletic trainer at the Center for Sports Medicine in San Francisco to her work at Mills College in Oakland, California. Additionally, she spends her time supporting Rosie Casals at the Love & Love Tennis Foundation as a volunteer.
Claudia Hernandez-Belmar
Claudia was the 16-and-under Orange Bowl champion in 1982 and made the girls' singles quarter-finals of the 1983 US Open. As a Pan American Games competitor for Mexico she won two Women's Doubles bronze medals, in 1983 and 1987.
In 1999 Claudia was awarded the Sportswoman of the Century Award in tennis, in the state of Jalisco. In 1984 she became the first international tennis player to receive a full 4-year scholarship to play for the University of Southern California USC Tennis Team.
In 2005 Claudia participated in the Consulting Board of the newspaper “Mural” in Jalisco, Mexico. She currently serves on the Board of Directors for the Rafael Osuna Sports Foundation.
Rafael Belmar-Osuna
Rafael is the Chairman of the Board of Directors Mexican Tennis Hall of Fame and the Vice Chairman of the Board of Directors for the Rafael Osuna Sports Foundation. His tennis accomplishments include Mexican National Open Champion Doubles in 1981, Rolex International Doubles Champion 18-and-under in 1981, Casablanca Grade A World Doubles Champion 18-and-under in 1980 and 1981, USA Interscholastic Champions Team and Doubles in 1981, California Interscholastic Champion Team in 1981 and 1982, and individual doubles 1981 and 1982.
Lornie Kuhle
Lornie found great success on the tennis court growing up, placing 3rd in the Illinois State High School Championships in 1962 before going on to help his team at Pan American University win the NAIA National Team Championships in 1964 and 1965. At one point, Kuhle was ranked in the top 10 in US Men’s Doubles as well as winning the USTA Father/Daughter Championships in 2004.
Perhaps most famously, Kuhle was the coach and manager for Bobby Riggs during the Battle of the Sexes in 1973. He became the Tennis Director at the MGM Grand Hotel in Las Vegas and held that position for 45 years. In recent years, Kuhle acquired the Easter Bowl, the “Super Bowl” of Junior Tennis, as well as being named by the USTA as Tournament Director of the USTA Billie Jean King Girls National Championships. Kuhle opened and developed the Bobby Riggs Tennis Club and Museum in Encinitas, California in 1995 and resides in San Diego where he continues to be involved in multiple tennis projects.