ITA Announces US Collegiate Team for Next Month's Master’U BNP Paribas Championships; USTA SoCal Introducing Two New Challengers in Indian Wells in January; Leftwich Tennis Center Opens in Memphis

The Intercollegiate Tennis Association announced the six players who will represent the United States in the 2023 Master’U BNP Paribas Championships next month in France. Fiona Crawley of North Carolina, Mary Stoiana of Texas A&M and Savannah Broadus of Pepperdine, Murphy Cassone of Arizona State, Eliot Spizzirri of Texas and Gavin Young of MIchigan will compete in the annual team competition December 1-3 in Honfleur, France. 

The United States, winners of the last three championships, will be one of eight teams that will compete in the event for university players, with the other countries France, Great Britain, Ireland, Belgium, Germany, Australia and Switzerland.  Crawley also represented the United States in last year's title run.

Greg Patton, the former coach at Boise State, will again captain the team, along with Robin Stephenson of Washington.

The ITA's release can be found here.

The USTA Southern California section has introduced the SoCal Pro Series, a series of $15,000 tournaments in the area during the past two summers; now they are expanding into ATP Challengers, with two $50,000 tournaments scheduled for January at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden. A pre-qualifying tournament will be held in Lakewood next month. The complete release is below:

Southern California Open ATP Challenger 50 Tennis Tournaments to Take Place At Indian Wells Tennis Garden In January, Offering a Glimpse At Tomorrow’s Stars

 

USTA Southern California To Host Back-To-Back Events Offering $82,000 Total Prize Money At World-Class Venue and Home of BNP Paribas Open

 

November 21, 2023 – USTA Southern California has announced it will host back-to-back Southern California Open ATP Challenger Tour 50 tournaments in January at the famed Indian Wells Tennis Garden in the Coachella Valley.  

 

Together branded the Southern California Open (2 ATP Challenger 50s, 2 weeks, 1 world-class location, 1 brand), the events are a springboard opportunity for aspiring pro players.

 

The men’s singles and doubles events will take place January 14-21 and January 21-28 and are men’s professional events offering $41,000 in prize money and 50 valuable ATP ranking points to the winner of each of the tournaments.   

 

While the world’s top men’s players like Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal and Carlos Alcaraz are battling it out Down Under in the season’s first Grand Slam the Australian Open, rising young stars of the ATP with world rankings in the 100s and 200s will begin their season in the intimate setting of the Indian Wells Tennis Garden, hosts of what many consider tennis’ fifth major the BNP Paribas Open in March.  

 

”USTA Southern California is excited to offer these two ladder-up opportunities that continue to strengthen the path and possibility for the players, not only our section but for all American players,” said Trevor Kronemann, Executive Director of USTA SoCal. “This spins off our successful Southern California Pro Series over the last two summers. We are grateful for the Indian Wells staff and their continued support of our endeavor to provide opportunities as our players reach for playing in that event in the near future." 

 

Nearly all of the current players in the ATP World Tour rankings are graduates of ATP Challenger-level tournaments, including American’s Taylor Fritz (No. 10), Tommy Paul (No. 13), Frances Tiafoe (No. 16) and Ben Shelton (No. 17). Last fall, the 21-year-old Shelton won three straight ATP Challenger Tour events to vault into the world Top 100 and continued his rise up the world rankings advancing to the quarterfinals at the Australian Open and the semifinals at the US Open in 2023. Southern California native Alex Michelsen has also benefited from the ATP Challenger Tour recently winning in Knoxville, Tenn., and advancing to the final in Champaign, Ill., to enter the Top 100. 

 

“If you look at other countries that have successful professional players, like Spain, Italy and France, they all have the commonality of many more lower-level pro tournaments than the USA does,” said Chris Boyer, Vice President of the USTA SoCal Executive Board. “This is one reason why they are seeing the success they do. These tournaments offer critical steps for player development.” 

 

“We are thrilled to be kicking off the 2024 tennis season hosting these two ATP Challenger Tour 50 events at our world-class facility,” said Jai Nettimi, Director of Tennis at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden. “We hope the local Coachella Valley community and tennis fans from all over Southern California will come out and support these up-and-coming players who may be playing here in the coming years at the BNP Paribas Open.”

 

Admission and parking is free and tennis players and fans are encouraged to come out and support the young generation of ATP players who very well could be among the next generation of top professionals. All matches will also be streamed live during the tournaments. Cathy Jacobson-Guzy has been named tournament director for both events.  

 

The ATP Challenger 50 category has a “top 150” restriction in place, so the event will draw players just outside the 150 cutoff. However, two wild cards are available for players ranked within the top 150.

 

A pre-qualifying tournament will take place at the Lakewood Tennis Center December 8-11 with the winner receiving a wild card into the qualifying tournament of one of the events to be determined. The registration deadline is December 5 and to register, click HERE. There will be another pre-qualifying opportunity December 29-January 1. To register for that event, click HERE.

 

This past summer, USTA successful hosted seven men’s and women’s ITF World Tour SoCal Pro Series $15,000 tournaments offering the “Race to Indian Wells” as Irvine’s Stefan Dostanic and San Diego’s Haley Giavara captured the top men’s and women’s spots in the standings and were awarded qualifying wild cards into this year’s BNP Paribas Open at Indian Wells. 

 

About USTA Southern California 

Founded in 1887, USTA Southern California is one of the 17 sections of the United States Tennis Association. Comprising Imperial, Kern, Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino, San Diego, San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara, and Ventura Counties, the Southern California section is one of the nation's most prolific contributors of tennis talent and supports the growth of the game by fostering opportunities at all levels, developing innovative programming, and providing for communities though its charitable arm, the SCTA Foundation. Nationally, the USTA is a not-for-profit organization committed to promoting the game of tennis by offering quality recreational and competitive programs for people of all ages and abilities. 

 

Media Contact:  

Steve Pratt; (310) 408-4555; stevep@bzapr.com

The Leftwich Tennis Center in Memphis Tennessee, which was previously scheduled to host the ITF J300 Pan American Closed this fall, was not ready in time for that tournament, but is now open, providing the University of Memphis, and all tennis players in the area, with a new home after the demise of the Racquet Club of Memphis. From the Memphis Commercial Appeal article on the grand opening:

Scott Mitchell, director of Tennis Memphis, said the potential for hosting tournaments is endless.

“This world class tennis facility will allow us to host adult and youth tournaments. State regional national tournaments, even international tournaments, NCAA Tournaments,” he said. “The possibilities go on and on.”

Leftwich’s facilities accommodate both professionals and amateurs, 24 outdoor courts as well as 12 indoor courts, for play year-round. Tennis Memphis, which the city partnered with to create the new facility, offers private lessons, tutoring as well as development clinics and programs for both kids and adults. Attendees to the opening on Saturday experienced a taste of that for free, as tennis players from the U of M were present, giving free lessons to kids and their parents on the new courts.

It will be interesting to see what junior and college tournaments end up at the facility; certainly the combination of outdoor and indoor courts at the same location will be a significant selling point.