TOURNAMENT NOTES as of July 18, 2013 FIFTH THIRD BANK TENNIS CHAMPIONSHIPS LEXINGTON, KY • JULY 21–28 USTA PRO CIRCUIT WOMEN’S TENNIS RETURNS TO LEXINGTON AND TOURNAMENT OFFERS US OPEN WILD-CARD OPPORTUNITY FOR AMERICAN PLAYERS INFORMATION Site: University of Kentucky – The Fifth Third Bank Tennis Championships Hilary J. Boone Tennis Complex – Lexington, Ky. is taking place in Lexington for the 17th USTA Websites: lexingtonchallenger.com, procircuit.usta.com straight year as a women’s event. It is held in conjunction with a $50,000 USTA Pro Circuit Facebook: Fifth Third Bank Tennis Championships men’s Challenger. Lexington is one of two combined men’s and women’s event on the Twitter: @53Tennis calendar this year (joining Vancouver, which Qualifying Draw Begins: Sunday, July 21 takes place next week.). It is the only USTA Pro Circuit event in the state of Kentucky. Main Draw Begins: Tuesday, July 23 Main Draw: 32 Singles / 16 Doubles Lexington is the last of three consecutive women’s hard-court tournaments (joining Surface: Hard / Outdoor $50,000 events in Yakima, Wash., and Prize Money: $50,000 Portland, Ore.) that are part of a series of events that will award a women’s wild card into the Tournament Director: 2013 US Open. The wild card will be awarded Brooks Lundy, (859) 509-9707, [email protected] to the American woman who accumulates the Tournament Press Contact: greatest number of WTA ranking points (with Rena Baer, (859) 351-3230, [email protected] the player’s best two events, of the three, factoring into the final total). USTA Communications Contacts: Lauren Davis, the top-ranked American in Amanda Korba, (914) 697-2219, [email protected] The three women’s tournaments join four Lexington, has been ranked in the Top 100 consistently throughout the year. PRIZE MONEY / POINTS men’s tournaments—the $50,000 Levene Gouldin & Thompson Tennis Challenger, in SINGLES: Prize Money Ranking Points Binghamton, N.Y. (week of July 15); this This tournament will be streamed live on Winner $7,600 70 week’s event in Lexington; the $100,000 www.procircuit.usta.com. Runner-up $4,053 50 Odlum Brown VanOpen presented by Invesco Semifinalist $2,216 32 in Vancouver, Canada (week of July 29); and Quarterfinalist $1,267 18 the $100,000 Comerica Bank Challenger Players competing in Lexington include: Round of 16 $760 10 in Aptos, Calif. (week of August 5)—in Round of 32 $444 1 deciding the wild-card recipients. Lauren Davis, the top-ranked American in Lexington, who has consistently been ranked DOUBLES: Prize Money (per team) in the Top 100 this year. Davis started Winner $2,786 2013 by reaching the quarterfinals of the Runner-up $1,393 USTA Australian Open tune-up event in Hobart, Semifinalist $696 Australia, losing to fellow young American Quarterfinalist $380 Sloane Stephens in three sets. She then Round of 16 $254 won the $100,000 USTA Pro Circuit event COMMUNITY EVENTS in Midland, Mich., a few weeks later. Also Monday, July 22 in 2013, Davis reached the quarterfinals of Pro-Am, 5:30 p.m. the WTA event in Monterrey, Mexico, and qualified and reached the second round in Tuesday, July 23 Miami. She broke into the Top 100 for the Smart Shots/LMC Kids’ Day – 11:30 a.m.-1:00 p.m..; first time in her career in 2012, qualifying Sponsor Clinic, 5:30-6:30 p.m. for and reaching the second round of the Wednesday, July 24 Big Blue Night Exhibition, 6:30 p.m. Thursday, July 25 Shelby Rogers earned a main-draw wild card Ladies Round Robin Tournament, 5:30 p.m.; into the 2013 French Open by winning the Ladies Night Activities, 6:30 p.m. Har-Tru USTA Pro Circuit Wild Card Challenge. Friday, July 2 Men’s Round Robin Tournament, 5:30 p.m. *Player field subject to change TOURNAMENT NOTES French Open and advancing to the quarterfinals of the WTA event in Victoria Duval, 17, who earned a wild card into the main draw Quebec City, Canada, following the US Open. Davis also ended the of the 2012 US Open by winning the USTA Girls’ 18s National 2012 season strong on the USTA Pro Circuit, winning the $50,000 Championships as the No. 17 seed, knocking off five Top 10 seeds USTA Pro Circuit event in Las Vegas, sponsored by music sensation en route. In the first round of the US Open, she faced three-time Redfoo of LMFAO, and reaching the final of the $75,000 USTA US Open champion Kim Clijsters, who was playing in her final Pro Circuit event in Albuquerque the week prior to finish second Grand Slam event before retiring. Duval also reached the singles among American women in WTA points earned on the USTA Pro semifinals at the 2012 US Open Junior Championships. She Circuit in 2012. Davis peaked at No. 3 in the ITF World Junior formerly trained at the USTA Certified Regional Training Center in Rankings in 2010, when she won the Orange Bowl and reached the Atlanta, and members of the club helped save her father, a doctor final of the Easter Bowl. Davis is a longtime pupil of the Chris Evert in Port-au-Prince, who was injured in the 2010 earthquake in Haiti. Tennis Academy. She currently trains with Nick Bollettieri. Shelby Rogers, who earned a main-draw wild card into the 2013 Tournament wild card Ashley Weinhold, who won the 2007 USTA French Open by winning the Har-Tru USTA Pro Circuit Wild Card Girls’ 18s national championship, in turn receiving a wild card Challenge; in Paris, she defeated Irena Pavlovic in the first round into the 2007 US Open. Weinhold holds eight combined USTA Pro to win her first Grand Slam main draw match. The winner of the Circuit singles and doubles titles, winning her sixth doubles title in Har-Tru USTA Pro Circuit Wild Card Challenge was determined by 2012 at the $25,000 event in El Paso, Texas. She qualified for the the player who accumulated the greatest number of WTA ranking $100,000 USTA Pro Circuit event in Midland, Mich., in February. points at two of three USTA Pro Circuit $50,000 clay-court events— similar to what will be taking place in Lexington with the US Open. 2011 Lexington singles and doubles champion Chiara Scholl, who Rogers rose to the top of the standings by winning the title at the goes by the nickname “Chi Chi.” In addition to her title here, she $50,000 event in Charlottesville, Va., and reaching the quarterfinals also won the $25,000 event in El Paso, Texas, to jump start her at the $50,000 event in Dothan, Ala. Last year, Rogers made a run career. In 2012, she played in qualifying at the Australian Open, to the final of the $50,000 USTA Pro Circuit event in Las Vegas, French Open and US Open, and she reached the semifinals of two sponsored by music sensation Redfoo of LMFAO, and claimed the USTA Pro Circuit events at the levels of $50,000 and above. Scholl’s singles title in Yakima with a victory over US Open girls’ champion younger sister, Chalena, is a world Top 15 junior who trains at the Samantha Crawford. As a junior player, Rogers won the USTA Girls’ USTA Player Development Headquarters in Boca Raton, Fla. 18s National Championships to earn a wild card into the main draw of the 2010 US Open for her first appearance in a Grand Slam (in Sanaz Marand, who played for the University of North Carolina, the either main draw or the juniors). where she received All-America honors and helped lead UNC to the NCAA team semifinals for the first time ever, in 2010. This year, Irina Falconi, who was the top-ranked college player while playing she won her first career USTA Pro Circuit singles title at the two seasons at Georgia Tech, and who won the gold medal in singles $25,000 event in El Paso, Texas. She also holds five USTA Pro and the silver medal in doubles (with Christina McHale) at the Circuit doubles titles, with three coming in 2012. As a junior player, 2011 Pan Am Games. Since turning pro, Falconi has played in Marand reached the doubles final at the 2006 Easter Bowl with every Grand Slam event at least twice. Her highlight came at the Ashley Weinhold. US Open in 2011, when she upset No. 14 Dominika Cibulkova in the second round in Arthur Ashe Stadium and carried an American Notable players competing in qualifying include: flag around the court following the win. Also in 2011, Falconi won a USTA playoff to earn a wild card into the French Open, where she Seventeen-year-old Brooke Austin, who won the 2012 USTA Girls’ advanced to the second round, and qualified for the Australian Open 18s Spring National Championships and helped lead the U.S. to and Wimbledon to rise to No. 73 in the world rankings. This year she back-to-back World Junior Tennis titles in 2009 and 2010. In 2012, reached the final round of qualifying at both the French Open and she reached the final of the Easter Bowl, losing to 2012 year-end Wimbledon, and last year she reached the doubles final of the WTA No. 1 junior Taylor Townsend in the final. This year, Austin reached event in Washington D.C. At Georgia Tech, Falconi was a two-time the singles quarterfinals and doubles semifinals at the Easter Bowl. All-American and ranks first in school history in all-time winning She cracked the Top 100 in the ITF World Junior Rankings in 2011 percentage (.824; 70-15).