NEW ORLEANS – Professional women's tennis is returning to the Crescent City for the first time since 1988 as the University of New Orleans will serve July 22-29 as the host of the PJ's Coffee Women's International Tennis Classic at the University Tennis Center.
The event is the state of Louisiana's lone professional tournament for the 2012 year and will feature women's professional players from around the world competing for Women's Tennis Association (WTA) world ranking points.
The group of players includes Japanese 19-year old Sachie Ishizu, who finished as the girls' singles runner-up at Wimbledon in 2010. In addition to featuring some of the best up and coming professionals in the world, several local junior and college players will also have an opportunity to compete in the tournament as amateurs.
The tournament, which is part of the USTA Pro Circuit features a $10,000 prize to the winner.
Though these events typically draw players ranked No. 100 through 300 in the world seeking to bolster their WTA ranking, they serve as the springboard to successful professional careers. Past participant in similar events have included the likes of Mardy Fish, Maria Sharapova, Andy Roddick, James Blake and Li Na.
One major highlight of the event is a free tennis clinic for kids between the ages of 6-18. This clinic will take place on Saturday, July 28 from 9-10:30 a.m. with registration available by e-mailing Abrie du Plooy at tennis4duphooy@hotmail.com.
The tournament is also seeking ball boys and girls between the ages of 11 and 18 for the finals weekend of July 28 and July 29. Interested individuals can contact Kelly Juneau at kellyjuneau@aol.com.
Tickets to the tournament are on sale and available at the Tennis Shop of Metairie (4931 West Esplanade Avenue, Metairie), Second Serve Tennis Center (3951 Veterans Memorial Blvd, Metairie) or at FutureTennis.com. The cost of a ticket is $15 per person for the 3-day finals weekend (July 27-29) with children admitted free with no admission fee on July 22-26.
All individuals who purchase the tickets will receive free beverage and snack during the finals, one hour of free court time at the University Tennis Center, a 20% discount for any clothing purchase at TASCPerformance.com and $10 off any tournament, camp, lesson or event hosted by Future Tennis Inc. excluding the PJ's Coffee Women's International Championship.
The city of New Orleans last hosted an event featuring points for the WTA Tour in 1988. Chris Evert won 3 of 5 of the Virginia Slims tournaments in New Orleans while Martina Navratilova claimed the remaining two.
TOURNAMENT FACT SHEET
Dates: July 22-29, 2012
Tournament Promoter: Abrie du Plooy, (985) 634-6229 or tennis4duphooy@hotmail.com
Governing Body: USTA Pro Circuit, International Tennis Federation and WTA Tour
Format: 64 Qualifying Singles and 32 main draw/16 Doubles Draw
Prize Money: $10,000/$50,000 financial commitment
Website: www.procircuit.usta.com and http://www.futuretennis.com
Surface: Outdoor/Hard
Tournament press contact: Leslie du Plooy (504) 400-1434 or lduplooy@dentsply.com
TOURNAMENT HIGHLIGHTS
• First women's pro tennis event since 1988 in New Orleans
• Only professional tennis tournament in La
• Points earned count for the Sony Ericsson World ranking
• Maria Sharapova, James Blake, Andy Roddick and Andy Murray started their careers on this tour
TOURNAMENT SCHEDULE
July 22-23 • Qualifying Starts
July 24 • Main Draw starts at 9 a.m.
July 25 • Main Draw starts at 9 a.m.
July 26 • Main Draw starts at 9 a.m.
July 27 • Main Draw starts at 9 a.m. (Singles Quarterfinals/Doubles Semifinals)
July 28 • Free Kids Clinic (9-10:30 a.m.) • Main Draw starts at 10:30 a.m. (Singles Semifinals/Double Final)
July 29 • Singles Final at 12:30 p.m.
