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Mardy Fish Children's Foundation

Mardy Fish Children's Foundation Tennis Championships

Sea Oaks To Once Again Host “Wild Card” Tournament For Mardy Fish Pro Tournament

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The Sea Oaks Tennis Club in Vero Beach, Florida will once again host a main draw singles wild card tournament for the The Mardy Fish Children’s Foundation Tennis Championships $15,000 ITF World Tennis Tour event, Wednesday February 23 to Friday, February 25, 2022.

World-ranked players will compete in the event where the winner will receive a direct entry into the Mardy Fish Children’s Foundation Tennis Championships, the $15,000 ITF World Tennis Tour event to be held April 25-May 1 2022 at The Boulevard tennis club. This marks the fourth time that Sea Oaks has hosted this special wild card tournament. In 2018, Matthew Segura, the 17-year-old great nephew of Hall of Fame tennis legend Pancho Segura, won the event defeating fellow American Jack Vance in the final. In 2019, Segura repeated as champion, defeating 18-year-old Perry Gregg of Chicago in the final. In 2020, Segura made it a three-peat at Sea Oaks defeating Emmett Ward in the final. The event was not held in 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Players can enter the event on the UTR platform here: https://app.universaltennis.com/events/80708?_ref=randywal270&shared=true Matches will be best-of-three set matches with a 10-point Match Tiebreaker played in lieu of a third set. The entry deadline is February 20. Admission is free. Donations to the Mardy Fish Children’s Foundation are encouraged!

The Mardy Fish Children’s Foundation Tennis Championships is the USTA’s $15,000 ITF World Tennis Tour tournament played in Vero Beach since 1995 and is regarded as one of the best entry-level professional tennis tournaments in the world. Proceeds from the event benefit the Mardy Fish Children’s Foundation, the non-profit tennis foundation benefiting children, named for Vero Beach native son Mardy Fish, the former top 10 tennis star and the current U.S. Davis Cup captain.

Tournament tickets and sponsorships for the Mardy Fish Children’s Foundation Tennis Championships are now on sale and can be purchased at www.MardyFishChildrensFoundation.org  Fans can follow news and developments on the tournament on Facebook and on Twitter at @VeroFutures. Detailed sponsorship information can be obtained by emailing Lynn Southerly at Lsouth1072@gmail.com, Tom Fish at Ttfish10s@aol.com or Randy Walker at RWalker@NewChapterMedia.com

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 and most recently world No. 50 player and teen sensation Denis Shapovalov, who played in Vero Beach in 2016. Former Vero Beach competitors have combined to win 19 titles in singles, doubles and mixed doubles at Grand Slam tournaments. Seven 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 and Frances Tiafoe.

Founded in 2007, the Mardy Fish Children’s Foundation (www.MardyFishFoundationChildrensFoundation.org and @MardyFishFound on Twitter)

Matthew Segura, the great nephew of Hall of Fame tennis legend Pancho Segura, played J.J. Mercer, one of the top junior players in the nation and a top recruit to play for the No. 1 ranked Ohio State University at Sea Oaks Beach and Tennis Club in Vero Beach. They were among a group of 32 aspiring players from around the world in the singles field of this tournament that will award a main draw singles “wild card” (tournament entry) into the 2019 Mardy Fish Children’s Foundation Tennis Championships, the $25,000 ITF World Tennis Tour event.

Calvin Hemery of France Wins 2017 Mardy Fish Children's Foundation Tennis Championships

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Vive Le Calvin!
Calvin Hemery, the energetic, outgoing shotmaker from France, reigned supreme at the 2017 Mardy Fish Children’s Foundation Tennis Championships ending the 10-day run of qualifier Sam Riffice in Sunday’s singles final by a 6-3, 6-1 scoreline in front of over 400 fans at Grand Harbor Golf & Beach Club.
Hemery came into the singles tournament as the No. 1 seed and accomplished the only goal he had in mind; winning the title. The Frenchman had lost in the final of the previous week’s tournament on the USTA Pro Circuit in Orange Park, just outside of Jacksonville, last week, and had no intentions of doing that two weeks in a row.
“It was a perfect week for me,” said Hemery, ranked No. 298 in the ATP World Tour rankings.
Riffice, an 18-year-old from Roseville, Calif., entered the match having won nine straight matches over the last 10 days – four in the qualifying tournament and five in the main draw. Sunday marked his first appearance in professional singles final and he appeared poised early on to notch his first title when he took an early 3-1 lead in the first set, breaking Hemery’s serve in the first game of the match.
“He got off to a very hot start. I didn’t play well and he pushed me,” the 22-year-old Hemery said.
The wear and tear of the previous 10 days finally began to show as Hemery then proceeded to win 11 of the next 12 games to claim the title and the 18 ATP World Tour ranking points that will push up to be in reach of potentially being included in the French Open qualifying tournament in late May.
Hemery, a resident of the east Paris suburb of Les Lilas, France, said he believed fitness was a factor in the match.
“I was a little bit more fresh, so I moved a little better,” he said.
Riffice had an opening to potentially get back into the match when Hemery served for the first set at 5-3 holding double-break point at 15-40. However, Hemery stepped up his game and won the next four points to close out the set, hammering an ace down the T as an exclaimation point.
“I knew I had to come out big and I executed well,” Riffice said of his fast start. “I just couldn’t keep it up. I felt like I played my game the whole time, but I was a little tired and he definitely picked up his game. I was happy with the way I played. He just outplayed me today.”
Despite the loss, the week marked a break-through for Riffice, who earned 10 ATP World Tour ranking points to move into the top 1,000 in the professional rankings. As the No. 30-ranked junior player in the world, he will compete in junior Grand Slam tournaments at the French Open, Wimbledon and the U.S. Open. He will also continue to work with Vero Beach resident Ivan Lendl, the tennis legend who works with Riffice as part of the USTA’s Player Development program. In the grand picture of his career, the loss was only a minor roadblock in what is looking to be a promising career for the American.
“I know that when I play my game, I have a chance against the top players,” Riffice said. “I take a lot of positives from this.”
For Hemery, it was his second professional singles title, also winning at this “Futures” level of professional events at an event in Italy in 2015. Immediately after the singles final, Hemery and Julien Cagnina of Belgium played in the doubles final, but were defeated by the Brazilian tandem of Alex Blumenberg and Thales Turini 6-4, 2-6, (10-7).
Blumenberg and Turini raced out to a fast start in the first set, gaining a 5-0 lead. Cagnina and Hemery fought back winning the next four games before the Brazilians finally closed out the first set, despite saving break points in the set’s final game.
The second set was won with relative ease by Cagnina and Hemery, before the Brazilians were able to regroup in the third-set match-tiebreak and close out the victory.
For Blumenberg, it was his first professional title of any kind, coming in a tournament in which he didn’t even intend to play doubles.
“He surprised me during the week and convinced me to play,” Blumenberg said about Turini. “Now, I am a champion for the first time after a lot of injuries and tough moments. So I am very happy.”

Calvin Hemery of France
Calvin Hemery of France

Wimbledon Cinderella Marcus Willis To Play Mardy Fish Children's Foundation Tennis Championships

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Marcus Willis, the inspiring Cinderella story from Wimbledon last summer, leads the list of entries into the 2017 Mardy Fish Children’s Foundation Tennis Championships, the $15,000 USTA Pro Circuit event to be played April 21-30 at Grand Harbor Golf & Beach Club in Vero Beach, Florida.
Last summer, Willis, inspired by meeting a new romantic partner Jennifer Bate at a concert, won six matches in pre-qualifying and qualifying rounds to advance into the main draw of Wimbledon, where he reached the second round before losing to Roger Federer on Centre Court. The story of Willis was one of the best stories in tennis in 2016 – receiving global media coverage, a standing ovation from the Centre Court crowd and high praise from Federer.
“This story is gold‚“ Federer said last summer of the Willis Cinderella story. “I think it’s one of the best stories in a long time in our sport. This is the kind of stories we need in our sport.”
Other leading entries into the Mardy Fish Children’s Foundation Tennis Championships include Peter Nagy, a member of Hungary’s Davis Cup team, Naoki Nakagawa, the 2014 U.S. Open junior doubles champion from Japan, Connor Smith, a former Ohio State All-American and the 2014 singles champion in Vero Beach, and Facundo Mena, the 2014 and 2015 singles runner-up in Vero Beach from Argentina.
Willis is currently ranked No. 409 in the ATP World Tour rankings and will be competing in his first tournament since he became a father to a baby girl last month with Bate, now his wife.
“We are excited to welcome these amazingly talented players from all around the world to Vero Beach where they continue their pursuit of ATP ranking points, prize money and tennis glory in their professional tennis careers,” said Tom Fish, co-tournament director of the Mardy Fish Children’s Foundation. “It’s exciting to have in our field someone as inspiring as Marcus Willis, whose run last year at Wimbledon was something right out of a Hollywood screenplay. It proves that there is very little that separates players competing in events like our Mardy Fish Children’s Foundation Tennis Championships and having the opportunity to play at Wimbledon on Centre Court against Roger Federer.”
Play will begin at Grand Harbor on Friday, April 21 at 8 am for the opening round of the 128-player qualifying tournament, which in 1998 featured future U.S. Open champion Andy Roddick playing his first ever professional matches. The qualifying rounds will continue Saturday, April 22, Sunday, April 23 and Monday, April 24 with play starting at 10 am. The 32-player singles and 16-team doubles main draw tournament will start on Tuesday, April 25 with matches starting at Noon each day through the finals on Sunday, April 30. Special 7 pm night matches will be played Tuesday, April 25 through Friday, April 28, with special “Happy Hour” night tickets being sold starting at 5 pm.
The Mardy Fish Children’s Foundation Tennis Championships has been played in Vero Beach since 1995 and is regarded as one of the best entry-level professional tennis tournaments in the world. Proceeds from the event benefit the Mardy Fish Children’s Foundation (www.MardyFishFoundation.com), the non-profit tennis foundation benefiting children, named for Vero Beach native son Mardy Fish, the former top 10 tennis star and a U.S. Davis Cup standout.
Advance tickets – and sponsorships – for the Mardy Fish Children’s Foundation Tennis Championships are available at www.VeroBeachTennisTickets.com. Season tickets for all 10 days of the competition are available for $100. Daily buy-one-get-one free tickets for the qualifying rounds April 21-24 are for sale for $10, with daily tickets for the main draw sessions April 25-30 for sale for $20. A special “Happy Hour” ticket is available for $10 after 5 pm for night sessions on Tuesday, April 25 – Friday, April 28 that includes a featured 7 pm night match. Admission for children 18 and under is free. Tickets are also sold at the front gate. Approximately 3,000 fans annually attend the event, which is seen as one of the best-attended events in the world on the “Futures” level of professional tennis tournaments. The 2016 event featured 13 players who played Davis Cup for their country and was won by Jonas Luetjen of Germany, who defeated Latvian Davis Cupper Martins Podzus in the final.
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 among others. Former Vero Beach competitors have combined to win 19 titles in singles, doubles and mixed doubles at Grand Slam tournaments. Six former Vero Beach players have gone on to play Davis Cup for the United States – Roddick, Fish, Taylor Dent, Jared Palmer, Donald Young and Ryan Harrison.
Corporate sponsors and donors for the 2017 tournament include PNC Bank, Boston Barricade, George E. Warren Corporation, Indian River Medical Center, Jake Owen Foundation, Syde Hurdus Foundation, Indian River Oxygen, Citrus Grillhouse, Coastal Van Lines, Rossway Swan, Publix, Ryan A. Jones and Associates, Tom Collins Insurance Agency, Vocap Partners, Riverside Café, Center Court Outfitters, David Walsh and Associates Real Estate, Peter Bernholz Family, John’s Island, Gene Simonsen, Michael & Kathleen Pierce, Steve Rubin, Rob Stein, William Barhorst, Dan Holman, John Klein, Mello Financial Services, Ocean Drive Elite Physiques, Rosato Plastic Surgery, Captain Hiram’s Resort, Absolute Protection Team, Minuteman Press, Technifibre, TeamChristopher.com, Fit for Life Strength, Diamond Resorts International, Wilson, Don Herrema and Lori Ford.
Founded in 2007, the Mardy Fish Children’s Foundation (www.MardyFishFoundation.com and @MardyFishFound on Twitter) currently supports over 2,100 children in 15 elementary schools and six middle schools in Indian River County, Florida by providing 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.

Marcus Willis
Marcus Willis

Mardy Fish Tennis “Tournament Party” To Feature Grand Slam, Davis Cup Champion Guests, Entertainment From “Riptide” Band, Pro-Am Tennis

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The Mardy Fish Children’s Foundation Tennis Championships will host its official “Tournament Party” on Monday, April 24 starting at 5 pm at the tennis facility at Grand Harbor Golf & Beach Club featuring Grand Slam and Davis Cup champions, its pro-am competition featuring world-ranked tournament competitors and entertainment from the fun and entertaining Vero Beach band “Riptide.”
Cliff and Nancy Richey, the best brother-sister combination in the history of tennis, will also attend the party as part of a visit to Vero Beach. Cliff Richey was a two-time member winning U.S. Davis Cup teams and was a two-time U.S. Open semifinalist, losing to Tony Roche in 1970 and to his former Davis Cup teammate Arthur Ashe in 1972. During his career, he defeated such players as Rod Laver, John McEnroe, Stan Smith and Ilie Nastase, His sister Nancy won the Australian singles title in 1967 and the French Open singles title in 1968, while also winning the Wimbledon, Australian and U.S. Open doubles title. She was one of the “Original 9” founders of the WTA Tour in 1973 and was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame in 2003.

Cliff and Nancy Richey
Cliff and Nancy Richey

Party patrons will also treated to cocktails and heavy appetizers as well as the musical entertainment from the Vero Beach and Grand Harbor band “Riptide.”
Aspiring players will also get a chance to test their skills against world-ranked pros from around the world in the pro-am competition from 5 pm to 7 pm. Competitors will play doubles with or against a rotation of world-ranked player competing in the tournament. Last year, nine of the 10 pros in the pro-am were Davis Cup players for their country, including Denis Shapovalov of Canada. Entrants will also receive two tickets for any main draw session of the tournament (April 25-30), a gift bag and cocktails and appetizers as part of the tournament party.
The Tournament Party and the Pro-Am event are fundraisers for The Mardy Fish Children’s Foundation and will benefit children of Indian River County, Florida.
Tickets for just the Tournament Party cost $90, while pro-am spots are available for $250 each. Tournament sponsors also receive invitations as part of their sponsorship packages. To participate and to RSVP, please email Kristen Wilson at kristen@mffkids.org or call/text at 231-330-3984.
The Mardy Fish Children’s Foundation Tennis Championships is the USTA’s $15,000 Futures-level tournament played in Vero Beach since 1995 and regarded as one of the best entry-level professional tennis tournaments in the world. Proceeds from the event benefit the Mardy Fish Children’s Foundation (www.MardyFishFoundation.com), the non-profit tennis foundation benefiting children, named for Vero Beach native son Mardy Fish, the former top 10 tennis star and a U.S. Davis Cup standout.
Advance tickets – and sponsorships – for the Mardy Fish Children’s Foundation Tennis Championships are available at www.VeroBeachTennisTickets.com. Season tickets for all 10 days of the competition are available for $100. Daily by-one-get-one free tickets for the qualifying rounds April 21-24 are for sale for $10, with daily tickets for the main draw sessions April 25-30 for sale for $20. A special “Happy Hour” ticket is available for $10 after 5 pm for night sessions on Tuesday, April 25 – Friday, April 28 that includes a featured 7 pm night match. Admission for children 18 and under is free. Approximately 3,000 fans annually attend the event, which is seen as one of the best-attended events in the world on the “Futures” level of professional tennis tournaments. The 2016 event featured 13 players who played Davis Cup for their country and was won by Jonas Luetjen of Germany, who defeated Latvian Davis Cupper Martins Podzus in the final.
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 among others. Former Vero Beach competitors have combined to win 19 titles in singles, doubles and mixed doubles at Grand Slam tournaments. Six former Vero Beach players have gone on to play Davis Cup for the United States – Roddick, Fish, Taylor Dent, Jared Palmer, Donald Young and Ryan Harrison.
Founded in 2007, the Mardy Fish Children’s Foundation (www.MardyFishFoundation.com and @MardyFishFound on Twitter) currently supports over 2,100 children in 15 elementary schools and six middle schools in Indian River County, Florida by providing 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.
Pro-Am Players From 2017 Mardy Fish Children's Foundation Tennis Championships
Pro-Am Players From 2017 Mardy Fish Children’s Foundation Tennis Championships

Ivan Lendl Pupils March Through Mardy Fish Tennis Qualifying Rounds

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Ivan Lendl’s influence is being felt at the Mardy Fish Children’s Foundation Tennis Championships as two of his students have earned their spots in the final round of the qualifying tournament.
“He’s funny off the court but he’s serious on the court and he’s obviously a genius, so it’s an honor to work with him,” said Patrick Kypson, the 16-year old American from Greenville, N.C., who gutted out a 6-4, 2-6, 6-2 win over fellow American Kurt Thein on Sunday.
“He’s obviously a great player, a very good coach,” said 17-year-old Tampa, Fla., resident Vasil Kirkov, of the Vero Beach-based Hall of Famer Lendl following his 6-2, 7-5 win Sunday over Frederick Saba of the United States.
Both Kirkov and Kypson have been to Vero Beach about a half dozen times since late last year training with Lendl at The Windsor Club as part of Lendl’s new coaching role with the USTA Player Development program. Two other 17-year-old players training with Lendl, Gianni Ross and Sam Riffice, received wild cards into the main draw of the tournament that starts on Monday.
The score of Kypson’s match does not truly display how tight and intense the match was throughout, as both players were battling each other, not only on the court, but in their minds.
“Being a lot older, he thinks he can intimidate me,” stated Kypson about his and Thein’s interactions throughout the match. With a lot of close line calls that required an umpire to settle the dispute, along with loud and spirited celebrations after the majority of the points, both players gave their opponent plenty of distractions to deal with.
“On top of that I was playing pretty bad,” said Kypson, who won the making his win today even more impressive. True champions are said to be able to win matches when they are unable to play their best, and that is something that coach Lendl has been able to instill in Kypson.
“I was competing very well today,” said Kirkov of his match with the No. 5 seed Saba. “It was a good win…I’m pretty happy I played well today and getting confidence from a match like this is very important.”
The wins for Kypson and Kirkov have earned them spots in the final round of qualifying rounds that take place at 11 am Monday. Both players have already played in five USTA Pro Circuit main draws and will be hoping to make their sixth appearance in a main draw here in Vero Beach.
Kypson’s final round of qualifying match will be against fellow young American William Howells, a 17-year old Boca Raton native. The two played during Kypson’s run to the title at the USTA Boy’s 16 and Under National Championships in 2015, with Kypson winning 6-3, 6-2.
“William is a tough player, but I’m looking forward to it,” claimed Kypson, who isn’t letting the result of their prior meeting give him any false confidence.
Kirkov’s match will also be played against another rising junior, 17-year-old Hady Habib from Houston.
“I know he has a big serve and a big forehand…he’s going to play very aggressive and I need to stay very steady like I did today,” said Kirkov of Habib.
Other notable results on Sunday came from Russia’s Evgeny Korolev, who easily defeated the No. 6 seed Jose Daniel Bendeck of Colombia, 6-0, 6-2, and Tigre Hank of Mexico, the No. 1 seed in the qualifying tournament, who defeated Gabriel Carvajal of Ecuador in 6-3, 4-6, 6-4.
Korolev, the former No. 46 player in the world, is making a comeback of sorts to professional tennis after stepping away from the game a year and half ago when his father suddenly passed away. His comeback is looking successful so far and he is hoping to carry his streak of impressive performances into the main draw.
The No. 1 seed in the qualifying tournament, Hank, was down 4-1 in third set and looked like he was on his way out of Vero Beach before he would go on to roll off five games in a row to come back and win.