Tournament Notes
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TournamenT noTes as of may 16, 2012 PALMETTO PRO OPEN SUMTER, SC • MAY 19–27 USTA PRO CIRCUIT WOMEN’S EVENT RETURNS TO SUMTER TournamenT InFormaTIon The Palmetto Pro Open returns to Sumter, S.C., for the fifth consecutive year. It is the second $10,000 USTA Pro Circuit Site: Palmetto Tennis Center – Sumter, S.C. women’s event of the year and the second Cynthia Lum Websites: www.sumtersc.gov of four consecutive hard-court women’s procircuit.usta.com tournaments. It is one of four USTA Pro Circuit women’s events held in South Facebook: Palmetto Tennis Center Carolina this year, preceding Hilton Head Qualifying Draw Begins: Saturday, May 19 Island, which will be held next week. Back-to-back $25,000 events are held in Main Draw Begins: Tuesday, May 22 Rock Hill and Florence in October. Main Draw: 32 Singles / 16 Doubles On Saturday, May 19, the tournament Surface: Hard / Outdoor will hold a Family Fun Day that features Prize Money: $10,000 a 10 and Under Tennis clinic for kids. 10 and Under Tennis is a national initiative Tournament Director: designed to get more kids playing tennis Sixteen-year-old Victoria Duval reached the Susan Wild, (803) 468-4816 in communities across the country. It uses girls’ singles quarterfinals at both Wimbledon [email protected] right-sized equipment and smaller courts to and the US Open in 2011. better allow kids to rally and play the game Tournament Press Contact: from their first time out. On January 1, Emily Lauer, (419) 290-2044 / (803) 774-3969 the rules of tennis officially changed in card into the 2010 US Open Qualifying [email protected] the United States to require that all Tournament. Mueller also reached the final USTA Communications Contacts: USTA-sanctioned events for kids 10 and in doubles at the $25,000 USTA Pro Circuit Amanda Korba, (914) 697-2219, [email protected] under be played utilizing some combination event in Raleigh, N.C., two weeks ago. Eric Schuster, (914) 696-7260, [email protected] of the shorter and lighter racquets, slower-moving and lower-bouncing balls, Others competing in the main draw include: and smaller courts utilized by 10 and USTA Pro Circuit veteran Diana Ospina, PrIze money / PoInTs Under Tennis. The first 50 children ages 32, who has captured three USTA Pro SINGLES: Prize Money Ranking Points 10 and under at the May 19 event will Circuit titles in her career; and 16-year-old Winner $1,568 12 receive a free 10 and Under Tennis racquet Victoria Duval, a standout junior player who Runner-up $980 8 fit for their age. reached the girls’ singles quarterfinals at Semifinalist $490 6 both Wimbledon and the US Open in 2011. Quarterfinalist $245 4 Those players entered in the main draw Duval currently trains with Nick Bollettieri Round of 16 $196 1 this week include 2010 Sumter doubles and previously trained at the USTA Certified Round of 32 $98 – champion Alexandra Mueller of Abington, Regional Training Center in Atlanta. Pa., who won the inaugural US Open Members of the club in Atlanta helped DOUBLES: Prize Money (per team) National Playoffs in 2010 to earn a wild save her father, a doctor in Port-au-Prince, Winner $637 who was injured in the devastating 2010 Runner-Up $343 earthquake in Haiti. Semifinalist $196 Quarterfinalist $98 Former college standouts in the main draw Round 16 $49 include: defending singles champion and 2010 runner-up Alexis King, who was a CommunITy eVenTs Eric Taylor/1stString.com three-time All-American at the University of Florida; Elizabeth Ferris, who played for the Saturday, May 19 Family Fun Day and Clinics featuring 10 and Under Tennis 11 a.m.-1 p.m. 2010 Sumter doubles champion Alexandra Mueller won the inaugural US Open National Playoffs that same year. *Player field subject to change TournamenT noTes University of Utah; and Macall Harkins, who won the In the qualifying draw, there are three teenagers competing who all 2011 US Open National Playoffs Southern California Regional train at the USTA Training Center-East at the USTA Billie Jean King Qualifying Tournament and played at Texas Christian University, National Tennis Center—the home of the US Open. Denise Starr, receiving the Southwest Region Arthur Ashe Jr. Leadership & Rima Asatrian and Louisa Chirico all train in Flushing, N.Y., as part Sportsmanship Award. of the USTA Player Development program, honing their games and training alongside top pros, including 2009 US Open quarterfinalist Those receiving main draw wild cards include: Amanda Rodgers, Melanie Oudin and current world No. 36 Christina McHale. Asatrian who just completed her freshman year playing at Syracuse University and Chirico will be playing in just their second pro tournaments after and who reached the US Open National Playoffs – Mixed Doubles previously competing exclusively on the junior tour. Starr and Chirico Championship in New Haven, Conn., last year with two-time Grand qualified for the $10,000 USTA Pro Circuit event in Landisville, Pa., Slam tournament doubles champion Ellis Ferreira; Sherry Li, 16, last week. of Florida, who reached the quarterfinals of the girls’ 18s USTA National Spring Championships in 2011; and South Carolina Many current USTA Pro Circuit and WTA stars have found success native Hayley Carter, 17, who reached the semifinals of Sumter in Sumter. 2008 champion and South Carolina native Mallory last year and won the girls’ 16s title at the 2010 USTA National Cecil attended Duke University and won the NCAA singles title as Clay Court Championships. Carter has trained at the Smith Stearns a freshman in 2009, earning a wild card into the main draw of the Tennis Academy on Hilton Head Island and has competed in the 2009 US Open. Current Duke star Beatrice Capra, who won the junior US Open. Sumter doubles title in 2008, won a USTA Wild Card Playoff to earn entry into the 2010 US Open, where she upset No. 18 seed Aravane Those competing in qualifying include: 16-year-old Brooke Austin, Rezai en route to the third round. And Capra’s partner for their 2008 who reached her first professional final here last year. As a junior title, Brooke Bolender, is a key contributor for the University of player, Austin helped lead the United States to back-to-back World Michigan and has competed in the NCAA Championships. Junior Tennis titles in 2009 and 2010, and she recently reached the final at the Easter Bowl before losing to world No. 1 junior Taylor Townsend in three sets in the final. *Player field subject to change SUMTER PAST WINNERS Singles Doubles Year Winner Runner-Up Year Winner 2011 Alexis King (USA) Brooke Austin (USA) 2011 Bojana Bobusic (AUS) – Nicola Slater (GBR) 2010 Jelena Pandzic (CRO) Alexis King (USA) 2010 Alexandra Mueller (USA) – Ashley Weinhold (USA) 2009 Petra Rampre (SLO) Anda Perianu (ROU) 2009 Allie Will (USA) – Caitlyn Williams (USA) 2008 Mallory Cecil (USA) Theresa Logar (USA) 2008 Brooke Bolender (USA) – Beatrice Capra (USA) TournamenT noTes USTA PRO CIRCUIT 10 AND UNDER TENNIS With approximately 90 tournaments hosted annually throughout the country and prize money ranging from On January 1, the USTA announced that the rules of tennis $10,000 to $100,000, the USTA Pro Circuit is the pathway to the US Open and tour-level competition for have officially changed and require that 10 and Under Tennis aspiring tennis players and a frequent battleground for established professionals. The USTA launched its tournaments be played utilizing smaller, lighter racquets Pro Circuit 33 years ago to provide players with the opportunity to gain professional ranking points, and it and lower-bouncing balls on smaller courts. This rule change has since grown to become the largest developmental tennis circuit in the world, offering nearly $3 million signifies the emergence of 10 and Under Tennis as an integral in prize money. Last year, more than 1,000 men and women from more than 70 countries competed in cities part of the development of young players. The scaled-down nationwide. Mardy Fish, Maria Sharapova, Andy Roddick, Caroline Wozniacki, James Blake, Li Na and equipment and smaller courts better allow kids to rally and Andy Murray are among today’s top stars who began their careers on the USTA Pro Circuit. play the game earlier in their development, and increase the likelihood they will return to the court and continue to More recently, the USTA Pro Circuit improve while having fun doing so. For more information, visit helped launch the careers of two young www.10andundertennis.com. Americans—Christina McHale and Ryan Christina McHale Harrison. McHale reached the quarterfinals or better at five USTA Pro Circuit events in NJTL 2010 and climbed more than 100 spots in the WTA rankings that year. Buoyed by those Cities across the country participate in the USTA/National Junior results, she began to compete regularly Tennis and Learning (NJTL) network, a nationwide network of on the WTA tour in 2011 and became the community tennis organizations seeking to develop the character youngest player in the world’s Top 50 after of young people through both tennis and education. Founded defeating No. 8 seed Marion Bartoli en route by Arthur Ashe in 1969, more than 650 registered chapters/ to the third round of the US Open. Three programs exist throughout the nation with more than 250,000 weeks prior, she upset world No. 1 Wozniacki participants ages 6-18, making NJTL one of the USTA’s largest at the US Open Series event in Cincinnati. community-based initiatives. McHale also was named to the U.S. Fed Cup team for the World Group Playoff in April 2011.