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How it started
Appel is a mentor who has helped place many college tennis players into careers. At first it was mostly New York City, with young players paired with older, established business people. Christopher Gardell, a hedge fund manager in London, created a European team, and the two sides play each other a little like the Davis Cup.
How it grew
It grew into a three-day event that alternates between Europe and the United States, always in a lovely location, with doubles, dinners, and social activities, and spouses come along. The group grew large enough to split into a 40 to 55 cohort and a 55-plus cohort. Younger players help run it as team managers and hitting partners.
Newport, 2025
In summer 2025, in Newport, Rhode Island, A.J. Rohde's wife, Melissa, came for the first time, since the event is usually far from their home in San Francisco. After two days among about 70 men with the same intensity, including a black-tie dinner at Marble House, she told him she finally understood him.
Why does the Davis Cup carry that name?
Dwight Davis, a Harvard tennis player, bought a silver trophy for a challenge match between the United States and the British Isles in 1900. The trophy took his name, and the competition grew into an annual contest among national teams. Davis later served as the United States Secretary of War from 1925 to 1929. Teams from dozens of countries now compete for the cup each year.
Why is Newport a tennis town?
The Newport Casino in Rhode Island hosted the first US National Championships in 1881. Its grass courts and shingle-style clubhouse now house the International Tennis Hall of Fame. Newport was also the summer home of wealthy American families in the Gilded Age. Marble House, built for William K. Vanderbilt and designed by Richard Morris Hunt, was completed in 1892.
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