The 31st annual King of the Hill tennis completion will start its 2026 season on Thursday, January 15 at The Boulevard Tennis & Padel Club and run through a scheduled Thursday February 19 conclusion. The event’s open division winner and runner-up will once again receive the traditional doubles wild card entry into the Mardy Fish Children’s Foundation USTA Pro Circuit tournament.
“King of the Hill” was started in 1996 in behalf of Youth Guidance Program in Vero Beach features top players in the Vero Beach, Florida area competing in an open division, a 40s division and 50 division. The 2026 season will run six weeks on Thursdays at 6 pm with proceeds benefiting Youth Guidance.
The schedule and groupings for the 2026 event are as follows…
Thursday January 15th at 6:00 pm first round open division on four courts:
Group Mardy Fish: Chase Perez Blanco (Vero Beach, winner in 2019, 2020, 2022), Tyler Rios (The Moorings, multiple times finalist), Christian Docter (Sea Oaks multiple times finalist), Stefan Hartman (Melbourne)
Group Andy Roddick: Andrew Butz (Vero Beach, winner in 2010), Joseph Van Deinse (Vero Beach T.C, multiple times finalist), Bruno Pessoa (The Legacy), Nathan Suranofsky (Windsor)
Group Rafael Nadal: Sam Sippel (Orchid Island, winner in 2025), Matteo Masala (John’s Island), Anton Loef (John’s Island), Greg Orr (The Moorings)
Group Andy Murray: Yohan Prinsen (Vero Club Tennis, 2025 finalist), Fernando Herrera (John’s Island), James Van Deinse (Vero Beach T.C, winner in 2017, 2023, 2024.), Ivan Ivars (The Boulevard)
Thursday January 22nd at 6:00 pm – Semifinals 40’s division on two courts:
Group Andre Agassi: Lennart Jonason (John’s Island), Kevin Lackey (Melbourne), Nathan Dickens (Melbourne), James Bragg (Vero Club Tennis)
Group Peter Sampras: Cullen DeWindt (Piper’s Landing), Razvan Ilie (Vero Beach), Ryan Lloyd (Stuart), Stefan Hartman (Melbourne)
Thursday January 22nd at 6:00 pm – Semifinals 50’s division on two courts:
Group Ilie Nastase: Mikael Pernfors (Sea Oaks), Joe Biedenharn (Sea Oaks), Mario Cobo (Mariner Sands), Karim Balagh (The Boulevard)
Group Rod Laver: Aldo Burga (The Moorings), Henner Lenhardt (Sea Oaks), Michael Phelipa (Suntree CC), Emile DeCuba (Ocean Village)
Thursday January 29th at 6:00 pm – Semifinals Open Division
Thursday February 5th at 6:00 pm – 50’s division Final
Thursday February 12th at 6:00 pm – 40’s division Final
Thursday February 19th at 6:00 pm – Open division Final
In 2025, Sam Sippel of the Orchid Island Club won the King of the Hill Open division title and paired with Yohan Prinsen of Vero Club Tennis and competed in the main draw of the Mardy Fish Children’s Foundation Tennis Championships doubles tournament. Prinsen was the third-place finisher in the open division but replaced the event runner-up Chase Perez-Blanci of Quail Valley. Sippel and Prinsen competed admirably against ATP-ranked pros Strong Kircheimer and Karl Poling but lost 6-2, 6-4.
The 2026 Mardy Fish Children’s Foundation Tennis Championships, the $15,000 USTA Pro Circuit event, will be held May 4-10 at the Sea Oaks Beach & Tennis Club.
To watch a feature on “King of the Hill” watch here: https://youtu.be/CfXUdD63BZg?si=It6gSX72cfM3ORJe
Winners of the 2025 King of the Hill:
50’s division – Mikael Pernfors from Sea Oaks
40’s division – Lennart Jonason from John’s Island
Open division – Sam Sippel from Orchid Island
