Showing posts with label US Open National Playoffs. Show all posts
DREAM BIG: U.S. Open National Playoffs Registration Is Now Open - Remember Blake Strode? It Can Happen!
Sunday, May 29, 2011
For complete Playoffs information, click here.
Blake Strode won the inaugural US Open National Playoffs last year, earning a spot in the US Open Qualifying Tournament and a shot at the main draw of the 2010 US Open.
This year Strode is doubling his chances at reaching the grand stage. Strode took the first step toward repeating his US Open National Playoffs title by winning the New England Sectional Qualifying Tournament men’s singles and, for good measure, also took the mixed doubles title with partner Whitney Jones. Strode’s fellow USTA Pro Circuit regular Lena Litvak claimed the women’s title.
With the victories, Strode, Jones and Litvak earn a return trip to New Haven, Conn., the site of both the New England sectional qualifier and the US Open National Playoffs – Men’s, Women’s and Mixed Doubles Championships. The championships will be held in conjunction with the New Haven Open at Yale, the last event of the 2011 Olympus US Open Series.
In all, there are 16 sectional qualifying tournaments, with each sending its winners to the championship round. The winners of the men’s and women’s US Open National Playoffs titles earn a wild card into the US Open Qualifying Tournament, while the mixed doubles champions earn a wild card into the main draw of the 2011 US Open mixed doubles event.
Strode is a former All-American at the University of Arkansas who deferred Harvard Law School to pursue professional tennis. He was never tested in New Haven, dropping just 18 games in six matches and defeating Evan Tindell, a Hartford resident who played collegiately at MIT, 6-1, 6-4, in the final.
In the mixed doubles, Strode and Jones—a touring pro currently ranked in the Top 400 in the world in doubles and who, like Strode, hails from the St. Louis area—did not drop a set in four matches, dispatching the Connecticut tandem of D.J. Geatz and Tina Tehrani, 6-4, 6-3, in the final.
For Litvak, the trip to Yale’s campus for the sectional qualifier brought back memories of her college days, when she competed for Harvard for a season before turning pro. And her results were similarly successful. She dropped just 16 games in four matches en route to the title, defeating fellow New York native Julia Elbaba, an up-and-coming junior player, 6-1, 6-2, in the final.
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Got Game? USTA Announces Playoffs For 2010 US Open
Thursday, January 28, 2010
The USTA announced the launch of the US Open National Playoffs, which will expand the footprint of the US Open and provide the opportunity for all players 14 years of age and older to earn a wild card into the 2010 US Open Qualifying Tournament. The US Open National Playoffs begins with 16 sectional qualifying tournaments held throughout the country from April through June. The men’s and women’s champions from each of the sectional qualifying tournaments advance to the US Open National Playoffs – Men’s and Women’s Championships, which will be held in conjunction with Olympus US Open Series tournaments this summer.
“The US Open National Playoffs makes the US Open ‘open,’ where one woman and one man will earn a wild card into the US Open Qualifying Tournament and a chance to advance to the main draw,” said Lucy Garvin, Chairman of the Board and President, USTA. “The fact that the US Open National Playoffs are supported by qualifying tournaments run by our sections makes this event even more unique, extending the reach of the US Open across the country.”
With the goal of connecting more people to the US Open and expanding the tournament’s reach to communities throughout the United States, players will compete in sectional qualifying tournaments hosted by 16 of the 17 USTA Sections nationwide.
The entry fee for each of the sectional qualifying tournaments is $125. All players competing must have a current USTA membership valid through August 30, 2010. Competitors can enter any of the 16 sectional qualifying tournaments, but they can only enter and compete in one sectional qualifying tournament. Each sectional qualifying tournament is limited to 256 players, and players will not be seeded by any means. Participants can be of any playing level, from aspiring novice to seasoned professional, giving everyone an equal opportunity to advance.
“While professionals are eligible to play, we expect the draws to be filled with top junior players, collegians, teaching professionals and even recreational players who will now have a chance to play themselves into the US Open for the first time,” said Jim Curley, Chief Professional Tournaments Officer & US Open Tournament Director.
Skier Bode Miller, a two-time overall World Cup champion, two-time Olympic silver medalist and three-time world champion, will compete in one of the sectional qualifying tournaments.
“Tennis has always been a part of my life,” said Miller, who won the 1996 Maine state singles title for Carrabassett Valley Academy and whose family owns the Tamarack Tennis Camp in Easton, N.H., which was founded by his grandparents. “The US Open National Playoffs is a great concept, and I look forward to playing in one of the sectional qualifying tournaments this spring. It will give me an outlet to focus my competitiveness after the Olympics and World Cup season.”
Entry information and a schedule of US Open National Playoffs Sectional Qualifying Tournaments are available online at www.usopen.org. Registration begins February 1.
The US Open Qualifying Tournament will be held August 24-27 at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in Flushing, N.Y.
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