John Gardiner's Tennis Ranch was past its prime–like Mr. Gardiner himself–when I first went to the storied Carmel Valley tennis resort. It was 1991, more than 30 years after the former Monterey High School tennis and football coach opened the secluded California enclave of sunlit courts and rustic cottages, providing three-week tennis sessions to well-heeled locals and celebrities alike.
I was 11, and John Gardiner was an icon, when I first made the pilgrimage 11 miles up Carmel Valley Road from Highway 1, turning in at an unassuming sign, and following a steep winding driveway to a paradise tucked between hill and river.