There are not many small towns - if any - that can boast about the kind of tennis talent that has graced its courts.

Arthur Ashe, Billie Jean King, Jimmy Connors, Bill Tilden, Pancho Gonzalez, Tracy Austin, Pete Sampras, TonyTrabert, Stan Smith, Lindsay Davenport, Michael Chang, Bob Bryan and Mike Bryan are just a few of the Grand Slam tennis champions who once played in Ojai, Calif., at The Ojai^®, one of the oldest amateur tennis tournaments in the country dating back to 1896.

This rich tennis history of Ojai, Calif., a town of just over 8,000 residents in Ventura County, is one reason it is one of three finalists in the USTA's first-ever Best Tennis Town competition. Midland, Mich., and Independence, Kan., are the two other finalists, with the winner to be announced in a special ceremony at the 2009 US Open on Sept. 6.

The winning town will receive a $100,000 grant from the USTA to be used for community-wide tennis programming or facility enhancements. The second and third prize winners will receive $50,000 and $25,000, respectively.

Adding to The Ojai^®'s great history is that over 85 players who once competed in the tournament have won one or more Grand Slam titles, and about 1,500 players currently compete in it each year in a multitude of divisions.

Dale Sumersille, director of recreation at the Ojai Recreation Department, coordinated the city's bid to be the Best Tennis Town. She received a postcard about the competition from the city manager's office and thought Ojai had a great chance to be selected, given it is the home of The Ojai^®.

Working with the Ojai Valley Tennis Club, which puts on The Ojai^®, Sumersille worked on putting together the city's bid. Jill Cox spent much time putting together the required video, and Rick Thompson, head tennis instructor, was also instrumental in the process.

And once the town heard that it had been selected amongst the top 10, it started a campaign to get the vote out. From the top 10, the public voted online for the Best Tennis Town, with the top three towns with the most votes becoming the finalists. There were emails, Twitter and Facebook ads, posters and banners. Sumersille also spent time putting little postcards on the windows of cars, asking people to vote for Ojai.

Sumersille also contacted the local press and everyone from state legislators to Governor Arnold Schwartzenegger's office and their senators.

For a small town, there are a very wide variety of tennis programs for many different age groups, including QuickStart Tennis in the local elementary schools, and QuickStart courts are being built in Libbey Park, where The Ojai^® is held, and will likely be completed sometime this fall.

"We are very proud of the programs - we meet all age levels," Sumersille said. "We started the QuickStart program as a pilot program in the elementary schools, and it was very well received. We are continuing that program the next year. We had 207 kids, fourth and fifth graders playing in Physical Education classes."

"Kids will have a place to go to refine those skills (they learn in QuickStart class)," she added of the QuickStart courts in Libbey Park. "It will be the first QuickStart court in Ventura County."

Joe DeVito is the mayor of Ojai and first moved there in 1965. By 1967, he was involved with The Ojai^® - like many residents of the town - and has been ever since. There is just something about both the town and the tournament that inspires people to become involved with tennis. It is hard to talk to someone in the area who has not been to The Ojai or even played in it at one time.

At the time, DeVito had never been previously involved in tennis and was not a player but quickly learned of the town's rich tennis history.

"I was told you are moving to Arthur Ashe country. I said 'Who is Arthur Ashe?'," DeVito recalled of when he first moved to Ojai. "I was not aware of even a tournament like Ojai; I had never really followed tennis. From that experience of not knowing who Ashe was to where we are today, it has been exciting years of involvement."

In fact, the tournament was dedicated to Arthur Ashe in the early 1980s.

Like the rest of the town, DeVito was thrilled with the top three selection in the competition and compared it to his past days as an elementary school principal.

"We were one of 244 schools that were selected out of every elementary school in the state as one of California's distinguished schools," he said. "It was one of the greatest rewards that I had, and it made the years involvement so worthwhile. I kind of look at this, as being selected in the top three (in Best Tennis Town) as the same."

Five hundred volunteers run The Ojai^®, which is held over four days, and 64 different courts throughout Ventura County are used. The divisions range from girls' and boys' 14-and-under singles to girls' and boys' 18-and-unders, the Pac-10 Championships and the Open division, to name just a few. Local members of the community also open their homes to players to stay there during the tournament.

The tournament has its own special ambiance with free freshly squeezed orange juice served each morning and then tea in china cups in the afternoon.

Although The Ojai^® is played just four days out of the year, much of the money raised from the tourney then goes back to supporting youth programs and maintaining the courts and the facilities that are used 365 days a year.

"We are just appreciative of the people who have been here. It is the foundation for all the tennis programs that we have had in this city," DeVito said.

DeVito and Sumersille are both looking forward to coming to the US Open for the Sept. 6 ceremony as part of a group of 11 people from Ojai traveling to New York.

They will have an opportunity to see some veterans of The Ojai^® playing in the US Open in Olympus US Open Series champion and rising American star Sam Querrey and the world No. 1 doubles team of Bob and Mike Bryan.

Much like their sensational careers as a doubles team, the Bryans dominated The Ojai^®. They played 12-and-under, 14-and-under and all the way through high school before playing two years at Stanford University, part of the Pac-10. In all the years they played The Ojai^®, DeVito does not believe they ever lost a match.

In fact, Bob and Mike and their father, Wayne Bryan, wrote one of the recommendation letters required as part of Ojai's application for the Best Tennis Town competition. It was a few pages long and told of their experiences growing up near Ojai and what The Ojai^® has meant to them.

DeVito is hoping to be able to cross paths with them again in New York this weekend.

Ojai, Calif., is just about 90 miles from Los Angeles International Airport, and often times celebrities, like Oprah Winfrey, drop in to relax at the Ojai Valley Inn and Spa, a five-star resort. In a small, quiet town like Ojai, they know they will not be disturbed. There are also a lot of great golf courses and lush greenery in the area, as well as being only 15 miles from the Pacific Ocean and filled with lots of unique, little stores.

But in terms of tennis, it is The Ojai^® that sets the town apart in its history and the effect that it has in bringing together the community.

"We are just appreciative of the people who have been here. It is the foundation for all the tennis programs that we have had in this city," DeVito said.