Tennis Pro Helping Reopen Refurbished Courts at La Mesita Park on Tuesday

Monday night, Coco Vandeweghe of Rancho Santa Fe will play Sorana Cirstea of Romania in the first round of the Mercury Insurance tennis open at La Costa.

Tuesday morning, win or lose, Vandeweghe is set to appear at the tennis courts in La Mesita Park as the city of La Mesa marks its partnership with American Express and the U.S. Tennis Association.

Vandeweghe, 19, and ranked among the top 10 Americans on the professional tour, will be part of a ceremony at the 8855 Dallas Street park at 10 a.m. Tuesday.

The courts at the La Mesita Park Junior Seau Sports Complex will reopen Tuesday after repair and resurfacing as part of the second annual Fresh Courts program, city officials say.

Three 78-foot courts are being redone, with new player benches being added. As well, one standard court is being converted into four 36-foot
courts, suited for players 10 years and younger.

The renovations began in July, and were be carried out in conjunction with the Mercury Insurance Open (Aug. 1–7). The refurbished courts will host regular instructional classes offered through La Mesa Community Services following work.

"The Fresh Courts partnership between American Express and the USTA is a community funding effort that invests in developing communities through the renovation of existing tennis faculties in various markets across the U.S.," said La Mesa recreation supervisor Michele Greenberg-McClung.

This marks the second year that the American Express Fresh Courts program has rebuilt local tennis facilities in California. Last year, the program rebuilt eight full-sized courts at the Jackie Tatum Harvard Tennis Courts in Los Angeles.

The La Mesita Park project is the first of four around the country under Fresh Courts. The other sites are Jefferson Recreation Center in Washington D.C.; North Avondale Tennis Courts in Cincinnati; and
Astoria Park in Queens, New York.

Coco's uncle is Kiki Vandeweghe, the former UCLA  and NBA player. She currently is 102nd in the women's professional rankings.