The weekend before kickoff of the prestigious Indian Wells Open, when the best pro tennis players in the world descend on Southern California, is typically the time when LA hosts buzzy parties with celebrity athletes making the rounds at their obligatory brand appearances. That this year's pre-tournament festivities also fell on Oscars weekend meant that the worlds of sports and entertainment overlapped even more than they usually do—Coco Gauff turned up at the Academy Awards and Aryna Sabalenka hit the Vanity Fair Oscar Party. But this year the LA landscape, just weeks after devastating fires ripped through many parts of the city, was one in need of a comeback.
We at Racquet had long been planning to touch down at the stunning home of famed LA restauranteurs Hans & Patti Röckenwagner—of Dear John's, Dear Jane's and Röckenwagner baker renown—and what began as a planned celebration to launch Racquet's Issue No. 26 at Racquet House LA quickly expanded into a moment to bring Los Angeles' tennis community together in support of those in need. In addition to our ever-present free tennis clinics, this year provided by Sunset Tennis Club, to off-court bevs and bites courtesy of Rockenwagner Cafe & Lagavulin—whose Tiki Drop Shot should only be enjoyed responsibily, we learned the unresponsible way—we showcased gloriously cushined footwear from our friends at AHNU, on-point kits from Sergio Tacchini and hydrated with VOSS. We also left things a bit better than we found them by bidding on silent auction items generously donated by Sensei, the Four Seasons Resorts Oahu and a live painting by LA artist Ana Morales-Huerta.