Orange Bowl Expected to Move to Fort Lauderdale in 2025; Nine US Women Advance to Second Round of Wimbledon Qualifying; Klugman Gets First Wimbledon Women's Victory

Due to a massive storm this morning in Michigan, I do not have power or wifi and am not expected to have either until tomorrow, so I thought I should get my post up sooner rather than later, while my computer battery is still charged and my hotspot is still functioning. Normally I would be previewing the USTA Pro Circuit tournaments this week; there are only two--the men's and women's SoCal Pro Series joint $15Ks in Los Angeles--and they play very late in the day on the West Coast, so I'll have more on those events tomorrow.

Orange Bowl entrance at Veltri Tennis Center in Plantation FL

I have news regarding the Orange Bowl that I'd like to share today, with the caveat that nothing is official. But, if you've read my annual Eight Intriguing Questions for Tennis Recruiting Network every January, you know that a move from the Veltri Tennis Center in Plantation Florida has been a possibility for the past four years. In this year's Eight Questions, I mentioned Fort Lauderdale's Holiday Park as an option, and it appears that will be the Orange Bowl site beginning in 2025. From an email to Jimmy Evert Tennis Center members this spring:

Hello JETC Members,

Exciting updates and improvements are on the way!

Facility Improvements
The City of Fort Lauderdale Parks Bond project for JETC includes 3.5 million dollars for key improvements such as:

🎾 A redesigned layout

🎾 A paved pathway between courts for enhanced accessibility

🎾 State-of-the-art sub-surface irrigation systems (hydro-courts) for optimal playing conditions and sustainability

🎾 Three hard courts will be converted to clay

🎾 New fencing with dividers between courts will be installed

🎾 Court lighting will be upgraded to LED

🎾 A new Stadium Court with 210 permanent seats will be constructed in the southeast corner, replacing the two (2) existing clay courts

🎾 New shade structures will be added to accommodate all twenty clay courts

Partnership with Orange Bowl and United States Tennis Association (USTA)

On May 21st , our City Commission will review a proposal of a partnership with the Orange Bowl and USTA. In support of the Orange Bowl International Tennis Championships at JETC and future quarterly tournaments and/or events to be hosted by the Orange Bowl and USTA, the Orange Bowl would enhance the City’s scheduled clay court maintenance with a Legacy Gift Project in the amount of $1.5 Million Dollars provided over ten (10) years. These tournaments bring great exposure to our nationally popular facility.

The Legacy Gift Project includes annual resurfacing of our clay courts to ensure they are in optimal playing condition. In addition, top-dressing and a surface lift that includes laser grading for all courts will be completed every 5 years.

To ensure the facility is ready for the first Orange Bowl International Tennis Championship, the Orange Bowl is requesting that the City completes the timeline for the improvements in the Parks Bond project no later than September 30, 2025.

This initiative represents a significant investment in the JETC, enhancing its status as a premier tennis facility and the home of the Orange Bowl International Tennis Championships. As part of this agreement, the City will name the Stadium court “Chris Evert Stadium Court”.

We will provide additional updates as these projects progress. The overall goal is to minimize disruption for our members; however, once the City has secured a contractor for the project, we will be able to provide more information.

Thank you for your continued support and understanding.

The city adopted a resolution accepting the O.B. Tennis LLC legacy grant of $1.5 million at its June 4 city commission meeting, with the 36-page resolution providing more details on how it will be used in conjunction with the $3.5 million city commitment to renovations of the facility. 

With the USTA holding the ITF sanction for the Orange Bowl (this is solely about the 16s and 18s tournament, not related to the Junior Orange Bowl 12s and 14s), they decide on the tournament's venue, and has not as yet made any official announcement. I contacted the USTA yesterday and this is the response I received.

"The USTA and the Orange Bowl are actively exploring options for a long-term host for the Orange Bowl International Tennis Championships in South Florida. At this stage, no agreements have been signed and we will communicate any updates as soon as they become official. We are looking forward to the 2024 Orange Bowl International Tennis Championships at the Frank Veltri Tennis Center in Plantation."

I will, of course, pass along any official announcements from the USTA or from the Orange Bowl that I receive in the coming months, which I would expect will be released before the final event at Veltri this December. 

The first round of women's qualifying for Wimbledon is complete, with nine of the 15 US women in the draw advancing to Wednesday's second round. Former Florida All-American McCartney Kessler was featured on the Show Court at Roehampton, the only one that has ESPN+ coverage, I assume because she was playing Rebecca Marino of Canada, who had won the Ilkley W100 Sunday. Marino and Kessler played in the first round of that tournament, with the unseeded Marino earning a 4-6, 6-3, 6-3 victory over No. 4 seed Kessler. Today's rematch was equally as tight, but it was Kessler getting the win, 6-4, 6-7(2), 6-4. Kessler was unable to serve out the match at 5-3 in the third, and Marino had a game point for 5-5, but Kessler won the last three points of the match.

Tuesday's's first round results of Americans:

Katie Volynets[1] d. Francisca Jorge(POR) 6-3, 3-6, 6-3
Robin Montgomery d. Vitalia Diatchenko(RUS) 1-6, 6-3, 6-4
Sachia Vickery[29] d. Lina Gjorcheska(MKD) 7-6(1), 7-6(5)
McCartney Kessler[20] d. Rebecca Marino(CAN) 6-4, 6-7(2), 6-4
{Amanda Anisimova d. Valentini Grammatikopoulou(GRE) 6-2, 6-3
{Hailey Baptiste[4] d. Noma Noha Akugue(GER) 7-5, 6-2
Varvara Lepchenko d. Astra Sharma[27](AUS) 6-2 ,6-4
Kayla Day[26] d. Irina Shymanovich 6-2, 6-1
Alycia Parks d. Katarzyna Kawa(POL) 6-0, 6-2
Antonia Ruzic(CRO) d. Louisa Chirico 6-3, 6-1
Despina Papamichail(GRE)  d. Eli Mandlik 7-6(10), 2-6, 6-4
Dominika Salkova(CZE) d. Ann Li 6-4, 6-3
Harmony Tan(FRA) d. Elvina Kalieva 6-0, 6-1
Simona Waltert d. Clervie Ngounoue[WC] 2-6, 6-4, 7-5
Dalma Galfi[18](HUN) d. Hanna Chang 6-7(4), 6-1, 6-3

{will play each other in second round Wednesday

2023 Wimbledon girls champion Ngounoue, who hadn't played competitively since April, actually won more points (94-93) than her opponent Simona Waltert of Switzerland, but three unforced errors serving at 5-5 in the third gave Waltert an opportunity to close the door in the next game and she did.

In the battle between the reigning Orange Bowl champion and the 2021 Orange Bowl champion, it was the former, 15-year-old wild card Hannah Klugman of Great Britain, who came out on top, beating 18-year-old Petra Marcinko of Croatia 6-2, 6-2 to post her first victory in Wimbledon qualifying, after losing in the opening round last year.

For a recap of Klugman's victory, and other matches from today's first round of women's qualifying, see this article at Wimbledon.com.