"We have about twice more [teams] than anybody in the U.S.," said Jean Hassoun, president of the tennis club.

Hassoun was in New York during the U.S. Open Tournament to accept the award.

The 126 teams that call Sunnyvale Tennis Center home include almost 1,200 members, up from less than 400 just five years ago. The club is run entirely by volunteers.

The huge jump in membership that helped the club earn the award can be attributed to a number of factors.

For one thing, the cost is reasonable. Membership fees start as low as $15 for an individual older resident of Sunnyvale and go up to $55 for non-resident, non-senior family dues. Additional fees are collected for membership in the USTA if the applicant is not already a member--and for court time.

The costs are low when compared to private clubs.

Net for net, the municipal center is considered one of the best public facilities around.

"It is recognized by many for how good a facility it is, and people particularly in district tournaments say it's hard to believe that it's a public facility," said Ed Teng, the club's assistant membership director.

The city operates the center and maintains the grounds and facilities. In 1999 city officials opened membership to non-residents, and now the list includes people who live in Cupertino, Los Altos, Morgan Hill, Gilroy, Milpitas, Campbell, Los Gatos, San Jose and more.

The influx of members created a lot of extra work for Teng and his wife, Glory, the membership director. The couple work hard at keeping up with the numbers, but they set out to achieve a level of professionalism in the club. They, like everyone else who helps run the nonprofit club, are volunteers, but they take very seriously their commitment to bettering the club.

Glory Teng said she had a vision for improving the membership even before she took the job. She instituted a couple of no-nonsense changes almost immediately upon volunteering three years ago.

Her first step was setting up a post office box for members to send their annual membership dues and applications to. Next she installed a box in the pro shop so members could drop off the forms and the payment while they were on site.

Ed Teng is responsible for organizing the technical side of the membership duties. He maintains the website, which includes board member names and contacts, the entire list of all the club's members, schedules, tournaments, team assignments, court fees and newsletters.

The work the Tengs have done makes it easier for the club to achieve what Hassoun says is its true purpose--a social club.

Tennis is "just a sport" and in Silicon Valley where people move to from all over the world, the club becomes a place to meet and make friends.

"They can come and join a team and make tennis friends. They form a network," he said.

For more information on the Sunnyvale Tennis Club visit www.sunnyvaletennisclub.org.