Kaylan Bigun

A slew of ambitious up-and-coming American tennis players highlight the player field for the 2024 Mardy Fish Children’s Foundation Tennis Championships $15,000 USTA Pro Circuit ITF World Tennis Tour event to be held April 22-28 at the Vero Beach Tennis & Fitness Club at Timber Ridge.

Cooper Woestendick of Olathe, Kansas, the reigning USTA National Boys 16s champion who won the 2024 Australian Open junior doubles title earlier this year, is among the cadre of promising Americans who are scheduled to compete at the Vero Beach Tennis & Fitness Club along with fellow American up-and-comers Kaylan Bigun of West Hollywood, Calif., a singles quarterfinalist at Wimbledon and U.S. Open juniors last year, Stanford University commit Alexander Razeghi of Humble, Texas, a doubles semifinalist at the U.S. Open junior championships in 2023, and Victor Lilov of Raleigh, N.C., the runner-up at the 2021 Wimbledon junior championships. Christian Langmo of Boca Raton, Fla., a former standout at the University of Miami, is the leading entry in the tournament with an ATP ranking of No. 425 

Of the 24 entries before the qualifying rounds, 18 are American and also include former Northwestern star and 2018 Mardy Fish semifinalist Strong Kircheimer of Highland Park, Ill., current Duke standout Garrett Johns of Atlanta, former University of Georgia and Notre Dame standout Tristan McCormick of Berwyn, Pa., and 2022 Mardy Fish Children’s Foundation champion Sekou Bangoura of Bradenton, Fla. Jaycer Lyeons from Tyler, Texas, who last year went from being the last player accepted into the main draw of the tournament to reaching the singles final, is also in the main draw singles field. Mitchell Lee from Oakland, Calif., who won the Mardy Fish “Wild Card” event at the Sea Oaks Beach & Tennis Club earlier this year to qualify, will make his pro tennis event debut in Vero Beach.

Andres Andrade of Ecuador, who reached the doubles quarterfinal at the ATP Tour’s U.S. Men’s Clay Court Championships in Houston last week with former University of Florida teammate and Vero Beach competitor Ben Shelton, is among three former Florida Gators scheduled to compete. Andrade, a quarterfinalist in Vero Beach last year, will be joined by Duarte Vale of Portugal, a semifinalist last year in Vero Beach, as well as Will Grant of Boca Raton, Fla.

Among the players scheduled to play in the qualifying rounds of the tournament set for April 22 and April 23 are four-time Mardy Fish wild card singles winner Matthew Segura of Apopka, Fla., Venezuelan Davis Cupper Brandon Perez and Gianni Ross of Chicago, the most outstanding player on the University of Virginia’s 2022 NCAA Championship team. Lachlan Gaskell from Delray Beach, Fla., the runner-up to Lee at the Mardy Fish Sea Oaks “Wild Card” event will also be competing in the qualifying rounds of the tournament.

The Mardy Fish Children’s Foundation Tennis Championships has been held in Vero Beach since 1995 and, since 2016, has benefitted the Mardy Fish Children’s Foundation, the non-profit foundation benefiting children named for Vero Beach native son Mardy Fish, a former top 10 tennis star, U.S. Davis Cup hero and silver medalist at the 2004 Olympic Games.

“We are very excited about our singles field which is filled with young and promising American players and lot of players who tennis fans in Vero Beach are familiar with from past events,” said event co-tournament director Tom Fish, the father of Mardy Fish. “We have guys who have played big matches at ATP events, junior Grand Slam champions and finalists, great college players, Davis Cup players from other countries and those wanting to get a foothold in pro tennis. It will be a very entertaining event with some highly-competitive tennis and all benefits at-risk kids in Indian River County.”

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. 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. Kyle Edmund, the 2013 champion in Vero Beach, helped Great Britain to the Davis Cup title in 2015. 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. Eight 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 and Tommy Paul.

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.

2024 Tournament Sponsors

Presenting Sponsor:  PNC Bank,  Grand Slam Sponsor:  Michael Merrill, Broker Associate, Scoreboard Sponsor:  Block and Scarpa, Attorneys at Law

Additional Event Sponsors:  The Roberts Family Foundation, Carly Witteck, Realtor, Jake Owen Foundation, Boston Retail Solutions, Cliff Norris Real Estate, Bill Antle, Gene Simonsen, Michael Pierce, 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, Jim and Shirin Marver, Joe and Barbara Price, Hazelton Marketing Group, Kitchens By Design, Minuteman Press, Weatherman Umbrellas, Linda Delaney, Charlie and Este Brashears, Michael Williams, Wendy and Chase Carey, Steve Rubin, Tom Collins Insurance, Evelyn’s Plant Care, Nalzaro Music, Natalie’s Juice