The Tennis League was born in Santa Cruz, California, in the Summer of 1981. Some have said that founder Seth Kantor recognized community interest, and there is no doubt that is true (the first season had twenty-three players!) Seth will put it simply: "I organized the League because I wanted to compete in one... and there wasn't any." Popularity spread to other areas:San Jose, San Francisco, Berkeley/Oakland, and then along the Peninsula. To date, over 7,500 players have competed in Community Tennis League, in any season, matches are played in over forty different communities.

Seth Kantor and Co-Director Mary Ryniewicz are long-time league competitors; and both know and appreciate the value of challenging, competitive match play. It is their goal to organize these types of matches for all league members.

Together, the Directorship has extensive experience with competitive match play Mary and Seth Co-Coached U.C.S.C. Women's Tennis for seven years; Mary has been nationally ranked for the last three years; Seth played -and was Team Captain to- the Santa Cruz Area Tennis League's 5.0 U.S.T.A. team, resulting in five Monterey Bay Championships, and competing in one National Championship. Both Seth and Mary are still active Senior Tournment players.