The ten-year pro baseball veteran will be in Rehoboth to launch the brand new Rehoboth Beach Open, a first for Rehoboth’s fledgling Rehoboth Beach Tennis Club.

Bean is set to play in the charity tennis tournament that marks the first time a sanctioned event from the Gay and Lesbian Tennis Association (GLTA) will be played in our hometown. GLTA is an organization of 39 tennis clubs serving more than 5,000 tennis players around the world.

The Rehoboth Beach Tennis Club, a non-profit organization promoting tennis among the gay and lesbian community in Rehoboth Beach is organizing the event. Rich Williams, director of the Rehoboth Beach Tennis Club says the group hopes to raise both the visibility of the club and funds for charity. Plans call for half of all tournament net income to be donated to Sussex County AIDS Council (SCAC), with the remainder split between the Federation of Gay Games and Chicago Games Inc., host of Gay Games VII in 2006.

"Word is getting around," says Williams, and over 30 people have already registered for the event, which can only accommodate about 100 players on twelve local courts. Courts at Cape Henlopen High School and Rehoboth’s Deauville Beach will be among the tournament sites.

With some divisions already more than half full, the Rehoboth Beach Open is expected to sell out early. Entry forms can be downloaded at www.rehobothbeachtennis.org. Players do not need to belong to the club – and while this is a sanctioned men’s event from the GLTA, women are invited to participate as well. Williams is very excited to have Rehoboth Beach sign on for this official GLTA summer event.

According to Williams, baseball star Billy Bean’s amateur tennis career began when he triumphed at the Miami Art Deco Open VIII in 2003. Bean is one of very few former professional athletes, and the only living former Major League Baseball player, to acknowledge his homosexuality.

"We are thrilled to have Billy competing for another GLTA title at our debut event in Rehoboth Beach this summer," Williams says.

Bean is the author of Going the Other Way: Lessons from a Life In and Out of Major League Baseball. A film adaptation of his book, produced by Storyline Entertainment, will air soon on Showtime. For the past five years Bean has worked actively to dispel myths and stereotypes about people of diversity, particularly in athletics. He serves as Gay Games Ambassador and as a national spokesperson for the Human Rights Campaign, doing outreach to young adults.

As for club director Williams, bringing tennis to Rehoboth has been a long-time dream. "I hated to leave Rehoboth in the summer to go play tennis," he says, "so this is really bringing two of my favorite things together: Rehoboth and gay tennis."

Williams, who has a condo in Rehoboth, first played tennis as a youngster and played competitively in college. He gave up the game to pursue a career, but got back into it for the 2002 Gay Games—where he placed 5th in a field of 120 players.

His love for Rehoboth and tennis has given rise to the RB Tennis Club’s slogan "If you are going to play, why not play at the beach?"

Players interested in joining the club or the tournament will find all the information they need at www.rehobothbeachtennis.org. Included in the tournament will be men’s singles and doubles, and the club will assist in finding doubles partners for players. The fees are $90 to enter one event or $105 for two.

Naturally, the tournament will be a great mix of both social and athletic events. There will be a kick-off party on August 5 at the CAMP Rehoboth Community Center and a tournament end banquet at Café Zeus. Tennis matches will be played August 6-8, 8 a.m. – 6 p.m.