USTA tennis tournament coming to the Rocket City in May

Seems like every week we are hearing about new sporting events coming to the Rocket City. Not only is the Rocket City Trash Pandas season starting soon, but we have college hockey championships this weekend, pro soccer coming up and now we have an announcement that the United States Tennis Association Pro Circuit Championship is headed to Huntsville in May.

Here’s what we know about this pro tennis tournament coming to Huntsville:

USTA Pro Circuit Championship

The USTA Pro Circuit Championship scheduled for May 22-28 at the Athletic Club of Alabama, located at 3250 Leeman Ferry Road. Here are a few quick facts about the tournament and its format:

• USTA Southern is debuting a four-tournament USTA Southern Playoff Series that will award 26 wild cards to the inaugural USTA Southern Men’s & Women’s $15K USTA Pro Circuit Event on clay. 
• The series will give expanded opportunities to historically Black college and university student-athletes.
• USTA Southern will offer eight wild cards to men’s and eight wild cards to women’s HBCU student-athletes for each of the two Southern Colleges and University series events. 
• There will also be a junior tournament for 14- to 18-year-olds and an Adult Open playoff series for players of 14 years and older.
• Players must be eligible to represent the United States as per ITF and Olympic rules and regulations. 
• Collegiate players must be an official team member of a college or university in one of the following states: Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina and Tennessee. 
• Juniors and adults must have a residency declaration in one of the nine states. 
• The boys’ winner of the Southern Junior Level 3, scheduled for February in Florence, S.C., will also receive a qualifying wild card. Doubles wild cards will also be awarded to the Pro Circuit event.

“Having a Pro Circuit event is a great way to engage Huntsville-area families by offering various community activities. Southern is currently planning numerous events, especially for kids. We want to offer free or low-cost professional tennis so the community can enjoy watching players from all over the world compete in their backyard. It is also a bonus to have the event during National Tennis Month.”

USTA Southern staffer Milagros “Milly” Sequera Huss

Another win for Huntsville

Landing this tournament is another win for the Rocket City, with Huntsville getting more attention as an event town — specifically a sporting event town — in recent years.

The city already has been host to numerous regional and national swim meets and soccer tournaments, and this week the city is hosting the championship tournament for College Hockey South. As well, John Hunt Park has long been a cross country meet destination for teams across the country.

Hosting this tennis tournament further solidifies Huntsville as a true sporting event town.

“Huntsville has a strong tennis community, and it is good to see that continue in partnership with the USTA Southern Section to create this event for professionals in the region. We welcome all the competitors to the Rocket City for a great week of tennis.”

Mark Russell, Huntsville Sports Commission

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