Aces From Previous Junes Include Isner, Anderson, Barty; Two ATP Challengers in Orlando Added to Schedule; Reviewing ITF Men's and Women's US Calendars for Remainder of 2020

For the third straight month, I've had to go back into the archives to come up with a way to extend the streak of my monthly Aces column for Tennis Recruiting Network. Thirteen years ago, I began featuring the top accomplishments of junior and college players each month; for this edition, I found 14 competitors from 2007-2016 who went on to reach the ATP or WTA Top 50, beginning with two of most accomplished collegiate players this century: Kevin Anderson and John Isner. Also featured is current WTA No. 1 Ashleigh Barty, who won the French Open last year, but excelled on grass back in 2012.

The ATP has announced a provisional Challenger calendar for August and September, with 11 tournaments now on the schedule between August 17 and September 7. Two Challenger 125s have been added in the United States, coinciding with the Western and Southern Open and the first week of the US Open, with the USTA's National Campus hosting the back-to-back events beginning August 24th. The other nine Challengers during that four-week stretch are in Europe: four in the Czech Republic, four in Italy and one in France. There will be 16-player qualifying and 32-player main draws, a change from the recent 4-player qualifying draws and the 48-player main draws that have been in place since 2019 for ATP Challengers.

I went through the ITF World Tennis Tour calendars for men and women today, and although I assume there will be changes in the weeks to come, here is what the rest of the year looks like for WTT/USTA Pro Circuit tournaments in the United States, not including Challengers:

ITF World Tennis Tour Men’s Events

as of 7/3/20, in United States

AUGUST
17-23
Decatur IL M25, moved from Aug 3
Memphis TN M25, moved from Aug 10

SEPTEMBER
14-20
Champaign IL M25 (previously M15)

21-27
Fayetteville AR M15

28-Oct 4 
Harlingen TX M25


OCTOBER
5-12
Norman OK M25
Ithaca NY M15

12-18
Wichita KS M25 (moved from June)
Tallahassee FL M15

26-Nov 1
Fountain Valley CA M15

NOVEMBER
2-8
Ithaca NY M15
Fayetteville AR M15

9-15
Shreveport LA M15

16-22
Austin TX M15

23-29
East Lansing MI M15 (moved from previous week)

ITF World Tennis Tour Women’s Events

as of 7/3/20, in United States

AUGUST
3-9
Lexington KY W100 (was W60)

10-16
Landisville PA W100

SEPTEMBER
21-27
Lubbock TX W15

28-Oct 4
Templeton CA W60

OCTOBER
5-11
Las Vegas NV W80

Hilton Head SC W15

12-18
Florence SC W25

19-25
Macon GA W80

Fountain Valley CA W15

26-Nov 1
Tyler TX W80

Austin TX W15

NOVEMBER
9-15
Malibu CA W60

16-22
Norman OK W15 (moved from two weeks earlier)

The bread and butter of the USTA Pro Circuit, the $25,000-level events, have nearly disappeared, with the women especially hit hard in this category, with just one currently on the schedule for the rest of the year. Four originally on the schedule for September and early October are gone, with Florence the only one remaining.