Ryan Haviland, age 44 and the oldest player in the ATP singles rankings, will play the feature 5 pm match Monday on the opening day of the 2025 Mardy Fish Children’s Foundation Tennis Championships at the Vero Beach Tennis & Fitness Club at Timber Ridge. Haviland, ranked No. 1,636 on the ATP computer, plays Facundo Bermejo of Argentina, who is ranked No. 2,016 in the opening round of the two-day qualifying round portion of the tournament. Haviland will have to win Monday night and again on Tuesday to return to the main draw of the tournament, where last year he won a dramatic first round match in three hours and 23 minutes over Manuel Cabrera of Chile to earn an ATP ranking point and return to the ATP rankings. (Watch the end of that match here: Ryan Haviland, Age 43, Clinches ATP Ranking Point In Vero Beach)
Haviland is four years old than former French, Australian and U.S. Open champion Stan Wawrinka, who is the second-oldest player currently ranked in the ATP singles rankings. Watch Haviland discuss why he is still playing from last year’s event here: Why Is Ryan Haviland, Age 43, Still Playing In Futures Qualifying Events?
And read the feature story on him from Vero Beach last year here: As Top American Teenagers Thrive At Mardy Fish Tennis At Timber Ridge, 43-Year-Old Ryan Haviland Creates ATP Ranking Milestone
Ronnie Hohmann, former college star at LSU and Michigan State and a former champion at the prestigious Easter Bowl junior tournament, kicks off play on the Stadium Court at 11 am on Monday against fellow American Abhishek Thorat, the future Columbia University tennis team member and the winner of the Mardy Fish “Pre-Qualifying” tournament on Friday.
Matthew Segura, the great nephew of Hall of Famer Pancho Segura, plays the second match on Stadium not before 1:30 pm against Joao Ceolin of Brazil.
For the full schedule of play on Monday click here: ITF Tournament Planner
For the full qualifying draw, click here M15 Vero Beach, FL 2025 Tennis Tournament | ITF
Play starts at 11 am each weekday of the tournament and includes a feature match starting at 5 pm at the Vero Beach Tennis & Fitness Club. Main draw doubles starts on Tuesday and main draw singles starts on Wednesday. On Saturday, April 26, the semifinals start at Noon and on Sunday, April 27 the final starts at 1 pm. For ticket information, go to www.MardyFishChildrensFoundation.org
Some of the past competitors at the USTA Vero Beach Futures have gone on to succeed at the highest levels of professional tennis, winning major singles and doubles titles, Olympic medals and Davis Cup championships and earning No. 1 world rankings. Andy Roddick, the 2003 U.S. Open champion who attained the world No. 1 ranking and helped the United States win the Davis Cup in 2007, competed in Vero Beach in 1999 in his first ever professional tournament. Thomas Johansson of Sweden, who reached the second round of the Vero Beach Futures in 1995, won the Australian Open seven years later in 2002. Nicolas Massu, the 1998 singles runner-up in Vero Beach, won the singles and doubles gold medals at the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens, Greece, beating Fish in the gold medal singles match. Other notable former competitors in Vero Beach include former world No. 2 Magnus Norman, former world No. 4 Tim Henman, 2016 Wimbledon finalist Milos Raonic, 2021 Wimbledon semifinalist Denis Shapovalov, 2022 U.S. Open semifinalist France Tiafoe, 2023 Australian Open semifinalist Tommy Paul and new rising star and 2023 U.S. Open semifinalist Ben Shelton. Former Vero Beach competitors have combined to win 19 titles in singles, doubles and mixed doubles at Grand Slam tournaments. Eleven former Vero Beach players have gone on to play Davis Cup for the United States – Roddick, Fish, Taylor Dent, Jared Palmer, Donald Young, Ryan Harrison, Frances Tiafoe, Tommy Paul, Ben Shelton, Reilly Opelka and Alex Michelsen..
Affectionately known as “Timber Ridge” to locals, the Vero Beach Tennis & Fitness Club has been a staple in the community for over 30 years and has been owned and run since 2016 by James and Joseph van Deinse. The club boasts 14 Har-Tru tennis courts, a pickleball court, pool and clubhouse with fitness center and bar. The facility previously hosted a $25,000 women’s USTA Pro circuit event in 2014 that featured future major tournament champions Naomi Osaka and Sofia Kenin, future top 10 star Jennifer Brady and future major doubles champions Nicole Melichar, Laura Siegemund and Gaby Dabrowski. The club is also the original home of the “King of the Hill” tennis competition, hosting the first seven editions of Vero Beach’s popular doubles competition from 1996 to 2002. The Vero Beach Fitness & Tennis Club will be the third different venue to host the tournament after being held at Grand Harbor Club for 17 years from 1995 to 2009 and in 2017 and 2018 and at The Boulevard where it was held for 11 years from 2010 to 2016 and from 2019 to 2022.
Founded in 2007, the Mardy Fish Children’s Foundation (www.MardyFishChildrensFoundation.org and @MardyFishFound on Twitter) currently supports over 2,400 children in 15 elementary schools, six middle schools, and several other community organizations in Indian River County, Florida by funding after-school exercise, nutritional and enrichment programs in a safe environment to prepare them for healthy, productive and successful lives. The Foundation introduced the “Six Healthy Habits” in 2012 which are Get Sleep; Drink Water; Exercise Daily, Eat Healthy; Brush and Floss; Make Friends.
Sponsors for the 2025 Mardy Fish Children’s Foundation are led by Presenting Sponsor PNC Bank and Grand Slam sponsor Michael Merrill Real Estate. Other sponsors are Roberts Family Foundation, Boston Barricade, Michael Pierce – In Loving Memory of Kathie Pierce, Cliff Norris Real Estate, Antle Foundation, Gene Simonsen, Bob and Emilie Burr, Lynn Southerly, John and Sara Marshall, John and Marie McConnell, Peter and Ellen Kendall, Jaime Yordan, M&M Realty, Foglia Contracting Corp., Jim and Shirin Marver, Joe and Barbara Price, Hazelton Marketing Group, Kitchens by Design, Minuteman Press, Linda Delaney, Michael Williams, Wendy and Chase Carey, Steve and Karen Rubin, Carly Wittek, Tom Collins Insurance, Bill Baker, Sailfish Brewery, Evelyn’s Plant Care, Nalzaro Music, Weatherman Umbrella and Natalie’s Orange Juice.
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