Urhobo, Crossley and McNeil Among Winners on Hectic Wednesday at Boca Raton W35; Top Seed Spizzirri Reaches Sarasota Challenger Quarterfinals; $65M Tennis Center Proposed in Louisville; March UTR Pro Tennis Tour Results
Rain on Tuesday didn't allow the final round of qualifying to finish, or the four first round matches scheduled to start at the USTA Pro Circuit W35 in Boca Raton Florida, so today was a busy one at The Polo Club, with 24 singles, one of which is still going on at 8:30 p.m., to be played.
The qualifiers had the toughest assignment, of course, having to play twice, but at least three of them were up to the task, with Jamie Loeb(UNC), Jada Robinson and Mayu Crossley of Japan all posting two wins today.
Loeb defeated Madison Sieg(USC) 6-3, 3-6, 6-2; Robinson beat wild card Thea Frodin 6-2, 6-2 and Crossley avenged her quarterfinal loss to Monika Ekstrand at last week's W35 tournament in Jackson Mississippi, which Ekstrand went on to win. The 18-year-old Crossley, who had to qualify this week after being seeded in Mississippi, beat Ekstrand 6-4, 6-4. Crossley has committed to UCLA for this fall. Ekstrand did not get a special exempt, but she did receive a wild card into the main draw this week. Fiona Crawley(UNC), who also qualified, is playing her first round match tonight with Maria Portillo Ramirez of Mexico.
Like Frodin and Ekstrand, the other two wild cards were juniors too, with Paola Lopez and Christasha McNeil playing each other in the first round today. McNeil won, 6-3, 5-7, 6-1, extending her Pro Circuit winning streak to six matches after winning the W15 in Canada last month.
Eighteen-year-old Akasha Urhobo, who was one ranking spot from being seeded, also advanced, beating Malaika Rapolu(Texas) 6-4, 6-2.
Top seed and WTA 171 Arina Rodionova of Australia lost her first round match to Diletta Cherubini of Italy 6-4, 2-6, 7-6(2). No. 2 seed Whitney Osuigwe beat Victoria Hu(Princeton) 6-1, 6-3 and will face Crossley on Thursday.
The ATP Challenger 75 in Sarasota Florida has determined four of its quarterfinalists, with top seed Eliot Spizzirri(Texas) defeating Wake Forest freshman Charlie Robertson of Great Britain 7-6(1), 6-1 in the second round today. He will play lucky loser Geoffrey Blancaneaux of France in the quarterfinals Friday. No. 2 seed Federico Agustin Gomez(Louisville) of Argentina defeated qualifier Inaki Montes(Virginia) of Spain 6-0, 7-6(1) to advance to a quarterfinal meeting with Filip Jianu of Romania.
Mitchell Krueger[3], Emilio Nava[5], Michael Mmoh and qualifier Patrick Maloney(Michigan) are the Americans competing for quarterfinal spots Thursday.
WDRB in Louisville provided this reporting on a proposed $65 million dollar tennis and pickleball complex in the city. Plans are for 12 indoor and 24 outdoor tennis courts, 14 indoor and four outdoor pickleball courts, as well as a locker room, pro shop, restaurant and health club. From the article:
The $65 million project is set to be partially funded through private fundraising, with Louisville Metro looking to contribute a $20 million municipal bond.
The proposed center will also serve as a venue for local, state, national, and international tournaments, with plans to host professional tennis and pickleball events.
The city has expressed strong support for the complex, noting its potential to create significant economic growth. Louisville Mayor Craig Greenberg praised the project, saying it would enhance both recreational opportunities and tourism.
It's important to note this is still in the proposal stage, but it's a good sign that cities are recognizing the economic value of having facilities like this for racquet sports and not viewing them as a drain on their budgets.
The March results from the UTR Pro Tennis Tour tournaments in the United States are below:
WOMEN:
March 3 Newport Beach CAEma Burgic d. Dalayna Hewitt 6-3, 6-1
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