LA Tennis Challenge Tickets

I certainly hope this event returns and expands. But, it is a big mistake to turn the chair over to an actor comedian when you have world class tennis stars on the court who are very well versed in giving the crowd a good laugh or two while showing off their amazing skills. Rainn Wilson's interruptive banal and repetitive humor, while getting some laughs from the crowd, not only was an insult to both the players and real tennis fans, but took the air out of what was a truly exciting evening. Though the players were obviously irritated, they somehow managed to keep their composure. Sampras to his credit when he had had enough, tried to confront the issue with some humor of his own by asking for a real actor, Bruce Willis, to take the chair. Gimblestob is generally getting better at what he does, and did a wonderful job at putting this all together. But his constant need for something over the top, by getting his pal Rainn Wilson into the chair, seriously diminished an otherwise wonderful evening.

I paid a lot more than other people for my ticket, ($45 as opposed to $10), which I accepted because I thought that I was going to get better seats but the seating wasn't enforced well and I sat with people who paid less than I did. Tennis players were fun, they high lighted a lot of the celebrities who were there which I enjoyed but I feel took away from the people who were there specifically to see their favorite tennis stars.

Because this was the inaugural event, the organizers deserve some slack. The tennis was great, the humor and attitude of the players was terrific, and everyone had fun. Having said that, next year the organizers have to pay more attention to details. One small door for VIP check in, no q & a with the players as promised, and while nobody could foresee the net breaking, the lights going out was ridiculous. I hope this event will come back next year and the promoters fix the small problems that kept this from being a perfect night.

When I bought these tickets, I didn't realize this event was the first of it's kind but I'm proud to be in L.A. amongst professional tennis enthusiasts who took the time and effort to put this together. Since this was a charity event, the lightheartedness was enjoyable for all ages. There were some hiccups such as a broken net courtesy of a lovely Haas serve and the main lights going out during the doubles match. My only complaint would be the venue seating. This was my first time inside Pauley Pavillion and I heard they had recently remodeled so I was excited to see it. I couldn't believe how close the proximity is from one row to the next. Usually, one has to torque their body to the side to let people walk by but these rows were so close together that we had to stand every time someone walked by. Folks around me were visibly irked by this disruption. I love tennis so this is definitely recommended but I hope they consider a different L.A. venue for future events.

This is one of the best friendly games of tennis I have seen in a while. The tennis was top notch and the event was nicely done. There were a few odd things that occurred including the net breaking and the lights going off near the end of the match. Overall I thought everything was well done and totally worth the money. I really do hope they bring the event back next year...especially in the new Pauley Pavilion. To be honest, the only thing I didn't like was the decision to place Rainn Wilson in the umpire's chair. He was amusing for the first few minutes. But, then he really started to interfere with what was actually a very competitive doubles match. Let the comedian goof around a couple of times. That's it. Let the people get more of what they came to see which was some pretty strong tennis.

Had awesome time. Really enjoyed being that close to players (and seeing them relaxed and having fun). Unfortunate net breaking in first match caused delay, but good entertainment and good times with Ball Kids and Players while net being fixed. Having Rainn Wilson on to ump in the doubles match ruined the experience; and inapprociate comments made for a "family night" - totally unnecessary and disruptive to the tennis. No need for a celebrity host! Lights cutting out in 3rd match was so bad and really ruined the end of a fun night. What's the deal on that??? Loved the event BUT would not go again if held in the same place (UCLA). Traffic was a NIGHTMARE - would not recommend to anyone or go again unless moved to another location. Would have rated event AMAZING if better location/light situation and very disappointing Celebrity Ump brought in at the end of the event. Thank goodness he was not in charge for the whole evening - probably would have walked out.

We arrived and hour and 15 minutes before the scheduled start time. We sat in the middle of UCLA in traffic for one hour. They had four lanes of traffic narrowing down to one. Once we made it to the parking lot, it was full. We were diverted to another parking lot and paid $11. The event started 30 minutes late and the net broke causing further delay. The lights went out in the arena at 10:30 causing them to end the final match before it was actually played out. Getting out of the arena parking area was equally a nightmare. One hour and we went 3.2 miles. Soooo....besides the traffic and mishaps with the event, we loved the tennis! Would never go to Pauley Pavilion again.

The show was great but the comedian who sat on the umpire chair ruin the remainder of the match.

What a fun event. Highly entertaining. Five star players. Great crowd. Bring it back again next year...

First of all the tennis itself was great, Nole was a great sport. But the evening itself was marred by a number of problems - first all the event didn't start on time by any means - these folks need to remember some of us had to leave work a little early to get there and it is a weekday never mind a school night . My son and I needed a bite to eat - we had a Foccacia sandwich at the deli and I am not kidding that bread was so hard it had to have been made a week - complain no, we were jammed in our seats and hungry. Then we had the net issue - can't be helped but if it had started on time then it would not have been such an issue. Then duirng the doubles they asked some guy (I don't know who he was) to umpire but he basically runied the doubles event - believe it or not we actually wanted to see a half serious tennis match between these guys and childish toilet humor is funny just once. Then the lights failed - by now it is around 10.45pm - the day is already a long one. We stayed a while after but the quality of the tennis had dropped. Since it was around 11pm getting home was nighmare - on-ramps closed - 405 closed going south - all becuase the thing didn't start on time and or finish on time. As I said the singles was great, Nole is both a great tennis player and a showman, so for that it was ok but to pay what is fairly big money I expected a little better organisation.