Tennis Verobeach

Mardy Fish Children's Foundation

Randy Walker

Watch The 2023 Mardy Fish Tennis Championships Review Video

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The 2023 Mardy Fish Children’s Foundation Tennis Championships was memorable for many reasons.

The long-time USTA Pro Circuit ITF World Tennis Tour event was held for the first time at the Vero Beach Tennis and Fitness Club at Timber Ridge – the third different venue in Vero Beach for this long-time professional tennis event.

The venue received positive reviews from the players and from USTA and ITF officials.

The club endured the worst weather week in the history of the event with the featured night matches being rained out every night. However, despite the terrible storm that closed clubs around the county, the Vero Beach Tennis Club was open and hosting play at 9 am the next morning, despite numerous tents being blown away in the wicked wind that blew through the night before.

WATCH the review video for the 2023 event here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D42Y7d_JKeU

The dates for the 2024 tournament are April 22-28.

Mason Cisco Earns ITF World Junior Ranking While Competing In Europe

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Mason Cisco of Vero Beach is taking his tennis career to Europe and to new heights!

The Vero Beach High School tennis standout has been competing on the International Tennis Federation World Junior Tennis Circuit in Europe, the highest level of tennis where he has played. He also has earned a ITF World Junior Tennis ranking and seen improvements in his game.

Staying with his grandmother in Germany, Cisco has had the opportunity to get into several ITF World Junior Circuit events in Germany, Luxembourg and Italy and competing on the red clay courts against tough and talented European junior players.

Cisco was able to advance through qualifying at the J100 event in Neunkirchen, Germany, before losing in the first round in three sets to George Strasch of Estonia. He was able to get into the main draw of the J60 event in Schifflange, Luxembourg before losing in the first round Ilan Hediger of Switzerland but reached the quarterfinals in doubles. He reached the second round of qualifying at the J60 event in Fuerth, Germany and at the J60 level event in Veska, Czech Republic. He lost in the first round of qualifying at the J30 event in Cuneo, Italy, (J30 is the lowest level of ITF World Junior Tennis Tour events while J1000 events, the junior Grand Slam tournaments, are the highest.)

Cisco’s efforts have earned him an ITF World Junior Tennis Ranking of No. 3,445 and his Universal Tennis Rating (UTR) has moved from a 9.80 to his goal of over a 10, to a 10.12.

Cisco, who received early support for his tennis from the Mardy Fish Children’s Foundation, trains with former Mexican Davis Cup player Daniel Garza at The Boulevard and under Vero Beach High School tennis coach Mike Hickey.

Said Hickey of Cisco, “Mason’s tennis level has gone up and the shots he’s hitting are that of a professional level. His fitness level has gone up tremendously and he’s thinking more about shot selections. His steady attitude and emotional maturity on the court also are really inspiring and he handles himself professionally on the court. He’s been amazing to coach and really considers what you tell him and is curious about learning more and more”

Last season for Vero Beach High School, Cisco reached the state singles semifinals and the state doubles final with Bo Johnson. He is entering his senior year and looking at options to play college tennis.

Mason Cisco competing in Germany on the ITF World Junior Tennis Tour

Margot Carter Is New Riverside Park Tennis Director

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Margot Carter, formerly of The Boulevard Club, is the new Director of Tennis for its operations at Riverside Racquet Complex in Vero Beach.   

Carter was formerly ranked at No. 451 in doubles on the WTA Tour. She is certified by the Professional Tennis Registry as a Professional Coach and Coach Developer. She also is a United States Professional Tennis Association Elite Professional. Ms. Carter has presented at multiple tennis workshops, including the Women Tennis Coaches Association Conference in New York in 2018, and the WTCA/ITA collaboration in Naples in 2018. 

“We conducted an extensive search for a director of tennis who understands what it takes to serve this community and grow tennis at Riverside. Margot’s exceptional tennis background, service mentality, and business acumen made her the clear choice to grow programs and play in this community,” said Laura Bowen, USTA Florida Executive Director.  

“I am very excited to apply my knowledge and experience to building programs on the courts at Riverside. I am eager to get started, and I encourage the community to come out and share your input with us,” Carter said. 

Carter began playing tennis at age 5 in Winchester, England. At age 18, she came to the United States to attend Tennessee Tech University, where she was awarded a full tennis scholarship. She competed in the top three of the university team and set a record at number five on the all-time season victories list.  Carter earned her bachelor’s degree in environmental biology. 

After college, Carter went on to compete on the professional tour, travelling around the world extensively and achieving a world doubles ranking high of No. 451. She returned to TTU as the assistant coach, and this time completed a Master of Science in Environmental Biology. 

Carter continued her coaching career, obtaining certifications from both PTR and USPTA and eventually formed her own company, Spherical Yellow, launching herself into the world of coaching and tennis full time. 

For more information on programs and activities at Riverside Racquet Complex, visit www.RiversideRacquetComplex.com. 

Read Ray McNulty’s story on Carter and the Riverside Park Tennis management by the USTA here: New Riverside Park tennis director ‘eager to get started’ – Vero News

Miami Hurricane Dan Martin Wins 2023 Mardy Fish USTA Futures Singles Title

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Dan Martin of Canada and the University of Miami successfully fought through swirling 25 mph winds and came back from 3-5 down in the final set to beat Jaycer Lyeons of Houston 7-5, 1-6, 7-5 to win his first career ITF World Tennis Tour title at the $15,000 Mardy Fish Children’s Foundation Tennis Championships.
Martin, 22, entered the tournament unseeded in the 32-player field with a ranking of No. 1065 and earned 15 valuable ATP ranking points that will put him into the ATP top 1,000. However, Martin mainly entered the event to get in competitive shape before May’s NCAA singles championship. Martin, a senior at Miami after transferring from Dartmouth, is ranked No. 22 in the ITA collegiate singles rankings and will be a threat to win the singles title for the Hurricanes when he competes in late May at the USTA National Campus at Lake Nona.


WATCH a post-match one-on-one interview of Martin discussing his win here: https://youtu.be/el1_0gCpSWs

WATCH the trophy presentation and on-court interviews of both players here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=el1_0gCpSWs&t=12s

Lyeons, who now trains in Miami, was the last player added into the main draw of the event before the start of the qualifying event and ended up finishing second in his first ever ITF World Tennis Tour final. With an ATP ranking of No. 1,337 Lyeons was the last player not directly accepted into the main draw as of last Sunday night when the sign-in for the tournament concluded. However, the U.S. Tennis Association had only issued two of its three main draw wild cards (or free direct entries) and decided to award the last entry to Lyeons as the highest-ranked American not in the main draw. This allowed Lyeons to not have to win two qualifying round matches just to get into the main draw. Once in the main draw, Lyeons had a crazy run into the final first beating top American junior Kaylun Bigun in the first round. Lyeons battled top-seed and Romanian Davis Cupper Adrian Boitan in the second round the two fought until 3-3 in the third set, when rain delayed the match. After a three-hour delay, they resumed the match with only about 45 minutes of daylight remaining. Just after sunset, Lyeons led 4-1 in the final-set tiebreaker when Boitan asked for the match not to continued due to darkness, which was accorded. Lyeons, then sleeping on being only three points from the biggest win of his career, needed four points to close out the 6-4, 6-7 (6), 7-6(2) victory, saving three match points in the three-hour-plus epic. Lyeons then returned to the court a bit later on Friday and faced Dominican Davis Cupper Roberto Cid Subervi in the quarterfinals. Late in the first set, he became stricken with cramps, but was able to properly rehydrate and re-nourish himself and benefitting from Cid Subervi himself suffering from cramps and was able to advance when Cid Subervi retired due to his cramps after Lyeons won the second set. In the semifinals, Lyeons saved another match point, his fourth in the tournament, in his three-hour 18-minute semifinal win over Duarte Vale 7-5 in the third set.

Lyeons has only been playing pro tennis on the ITF World Tennis Tour since late July and this was his first career singles final.

In the doubles final, Peter Bertran of the Dominican Republic and Lorenzo Claverie of Italy defeating Americans Thomas Brown and Jake Bhangia 4-6, 7-6(3), 10-8.
WATCH the doubles ceremony and post-match interviews here: https://youtu.be/caidWS6AZpQ

Dan Martin (left) and Jaycer Lyeons

Jaycer Lyeons And His Incredible Run To The Mardy Fish Singles Final

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Could Jaycer Lyeons go from last man into the main draw of the 2023 Mardy Fish Children’s Foundation Tennis Championships to the last man standing?

The 22-year-old Texan who now trains in Miami was the last player added into the main draw before the start of the qualifying event and after his thrilling 3-6, 7-6 (7), 7-5 semifinal win Saturday over Duarte Vale of Portugal is only one match away from winning the title. Lyeons will play Sunday’s final against Canada’s Dan Martin, a Dartmouth transfer who now plays for the University of Miami.

With an ATP ranking of No. 1,337 Lyeons was the last player not directly accepted into the main draw as of last Sunday night when the sign-in for the tournament concluded. However, the U.S. Tennis Association had only issued two of its three main draw wild cards (or free direct entries) and decided to award the last entry to Lyeons as the highest-ranked American not in the main draw (and he was the leading entry in the qualifying field at the time). This allowed Lyeons to not have to win two qualifying round matches just to get into the main draw.

Once in the main draw, Lyeons had a crazy run into the final, least of which was his three-hour 18-minute marathon over Vale. After beating top American junior Kaylan Bigun in the first round, Lyeons battled top-seed and Romanian Davis Cupper Adrian Boitan. The two fought until 3-3 in the third set, when rain delayed the match. After a three-hour delay, they resumed the match with only about 45 minutes of daylight remaining. Just after sunset, Lyeons led 4-1 in the final-set tiebreaker when Boitan asked for the match not to continued due to darkness, which was accorded. Lyeons, then sleeping on being only three points from the biggest win of his career, needed four points to close out the 6-4, 6-7 (6), 7-6(2) victory, saving three match points in the three-hour-plus epic. Lyeons then returned to the court a bit later on Friday and faced Dominican Davis Cupper Roberto Cid Subervi in the quarterfinals. Late in the first set, he became stricken with cramps, but was able to properly rehydrate and re-nourish himself and benefitting from Cid Subervi himself suffering from cramps and was able to advance when Cid Subervi retired due to his cramps after Lyeons won the second set.

Against Vale, Lyeons saved another match point in the second set (his fourth of the tournament) and held steady after blowing five match points of his own and a 5-2 final-set lead to prevail 7-5 in the third set.

Lyeons has only been playing pro tennis on the ITF World Tennis Tour since late July and this is his first career singles final.

WATCH Randy Walker’s post-match interview with Lyeons here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HsE_Pb6_ynU

And WATCH Walker’s interview with Dan Martin after his 7-5, 6-1 win over Jacob Brumm in the first semifinal here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DvVYH7fQMtc

In doubles, 53-year-old James Bragg of Vero Beach and The Boulevard Club and Sea Oaks Beach & Tennis Club teaching pro Ching Wang resumed their rain-delayed doubles match and lost to Cid Subervi and Sathi Reddy of Indian 6-2, 6-0.

WATCH Walker’s interview with Bragg and Ching here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KeuDTGXrxGM

WATCH Walker’s interview with Cid Subervi and Reddy here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2__JbIlkrgU

Read former New York Post sports writer Marc Berman’s coverage from Saturday here

https://www.tcpalm.com/story/sports/2023/04/29/mardy-fish-pro-circuit-underdog-jayce-lyeons-reaches-championship/70166941007/
Jaycer Lyeons