Vero Beach Champions

Perez-Blanco and Hamza Ready For Tuesday Night Mardy Fish Clash, Mendoza Nearly Pulls Big Upset In ITF Tour Debut

Randy Walker · April 26, 2022 · Leave a Comment

Most of the players in this week’s annual Mardy Fish Children’s Foundation Tennis Championships at The Boulevard Village and Tennis Club are still chasing their dream to be among the sport’s elite.

There’s Sekou Bangoura of Bradenton, Florida, 30, who has notched wins over the likes of No. 17-ranked Reilly Opelka, No. 16-ranked Denis Shapovalov and No. 35-ranked Tommy Paul in their formative years. Or Ryan Shane of Falls Church, Va., who won the 2015 NCAA singles title for the University of Virginia. Or 28-year-old Ricardo Rodriguez, the all-time winning Davis Cup player from Venezuela and a finalist in Vero Beach in 2018 and 2021.

Then there are a couple of local teaching tennis pros like Chase Perez-Blanco and Slim Hamza, who gave up their dreams of playing on the ATP Tour after solid college careers at University of Florida and University of Utah (and University of Las Vegas), respectively. But they are quite content teaching juniors and adults in Vero Beach.

However, the two will get their chance against a field of ATP-ranked professional players when they compete in the main draw of the doubles competition of this $15,000 ITF World Tennis Tour event that is part of the U.S. Tennis Association Pro Circuit. Perez-Blanco, a teaching pro at Vero Beach’s Quail Valley Club, and Hamza, who works at The Moorings Club, will play their first-round match in the featured evening match on Tuesday not before 6 pm. The two earned their position in the doubles tournament by finishing first and second, respectively, via Vero Beach’s annual “King of the Hill” competition, featuring local tennis talent.

“We’re obviously excited to play,’’ said the 26-year-old Perez-Blanco. “There’s not a lot of pressure on us to win the tournament or the match. We’re just excited to go out and play competitive tennis, which we don’t do very often anymore. It’ll be fun for the tennis community of Vero Beach. That’s why we love to do it, to see everyone out there cheering. It brings two different clubs together, The Moorings and Quail, all rooting for one team. We just hope we put on a good show.”

Perez-Blanco, a Miami native who had an outstanding high school and college career, with his highlight in Gainesville being part of the 2016 SEC championship Gators squad. He’s ranked sixth all-time in Gators history for most combined singles and doubles victories.

Perez-Blanco, who’s just 5-8 but has a, “scary forehand,’’ according to Hamza, has won the “King of the Hill” tournament the last three years it was held. He only played the Fish event in 2019 when he and his brother-in-law Andrew Butz lost a third-set tiebreaker (10-8) to the ATP-ranked doubles team of Andrew Watson and Paul Oosterbaan. Perez-Blanco skipped the 2020 event because he had just got married to Christiana Butz and decided to, “party instead of training.”

“I played some Futures, but I knew once I graduated that would be the end of competitive tennis, and it would be time to move on to start a new chapter,’’ he said.

Hamza, 29, who played Davis Cup for Tunisia, was once ranked as high as No. 69 in the ITF World Junior rankings. However, serious knee and back injuries punctuated an outstanding college career (No. 34^th in singles, two-time PAC Player of the Week), and all but dashed his professional aspirations.

“That was the dream, but my body let me down,’’ said the 6-foot Hamza, who earned three ATP singles ranking points after winning three matches in three Futures events in Tunisia in 2010 and ’14. “It was very hard coming from a small country that doesn’t give much financial aid. …I left competition behind and am a tennis pro at The Moorings. My priority on Tuesday is to entertain the people.”

To prove Hamza’s point, the highest-ranked Tunisian in men’s tennis is Aziz Dougas at No. 418. However, Ons Jabeur is ranked 10^th in the WTA and is the first Arab to win a title (the pre-Wimbledon event in Birmingham, England last year) and first to reach the quarterfinals of any Grand Slam tournament. Also, in the pre-Open Era, Hall of Famer Nicola Pietrangeli, who played for Italy but was born in Tunisia, won 44 titles, including two French Opens (1959 and ’60).

“We have nothing to lose, just go out there, swing freely and if it goes our way we’ll take it,’’ Hamza smiled. “Then Roland Garros. Don’t get me dreaming!”

Segura Stars In Qualifying Win, Mendoza In Qualifying Loss

Many of the first round qualifying matches in singles Monday were one-sided, but one of the more exciting matches featured Vero Beach’s Sebastian Mendoza, who briefly threatened to pull off a major upset. Playing in his first ever match on the professional ITF World Tennis Tour, Mendoza, who was the No. 1 player on Vero Beach High School’s team in 2021, lost 6-1, 7-5 to No. 1214-ranked Joao Loureiro of Brazil, nearly extending the match to a match-deciding 10-point match tiebreaker, which is the format for qualifying round matches at this level of professional tennis. Mendoza, who is taking a year off before deciding on where to play college tennis, actually served for the second set at 5-4 against his much more accomplished opponent, before losing. However, the loss proved a valuable experience for Mendoza and his confidence, proving that he can compete against professional competition as he explained in this post-match video here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HeP9a-A9W_E

James Van Deinse, the co-owner of the Vero Beach Tennis Club and the boys’ coach at Vero Beach High School, was defeated by Hernando Escurra, a member of Paraguay’s Davis Cup team, 6-1, 6-1.

Matthew Segura, the three-time champion of the Mardy Fish “Wild Card” event at Sea Oaks, successfully won his first round qualifying match beating 15-year-old Meecah Bigun 6-3, 6-4

Blaise Bicknell, a member of Jamaica’s Davis Cup team, capped his 6-0, 6-0 win over Michael Defelice with an under-hand ace.

The match schedule for Tuesday can be found here: https://www.usta.com/content/dam/usta/2022-pro-circuit/20220425_vero_beach_m15/OP.pdf

The updated qualifying draw can be found here:

https://www.usta.com/content/dam/usta/2022-pro-circuit/20220425_vero_beach_m15/QS.pdf

The main draw for doubles can be found here: https://www.usta.com/content/dam/usta/2022-pro-circuit/20220425_vero_beach_m15/MDD.pdf

The main draw for singles can be found here: https://www.usta.com/content/dam/usta/2022-pro-circuit/20220425_vero_beach_m15/MDS.pdf

The DRAW CEREMONY for singles can be found here: https://youtu.be/23Yrp9bOxpc

MONDAY AGATE SCORES – FIRST ROUND QUALIFYING

Blaise BICKNELL (JAM) [2] def. Michael DEFELICE (USA) 6-0 6-0

Alvaro GUILLENMEZA (ECU) [1] def. Jakub OSTAJEWSKI (USA) 6-1 6-2

Jakub WOJCIK (USA) [4] def. Tom DYNKA (CAN) 3-6 6-1 [10-4]

Drew VAN ORDERLAIN(USA) [16] def. Andy ZHU (CAN) 6-1 6-4

Noah SCHACHTER (USA) [6] def. Caleb STROTHER (USA) 6-1 6-0

Kaylan BIGUN(USA) def. Fabian HANSCH MAURITZSON (SWE) [12] 6-1 6-1

Stefan SIMEUNOVIC (CAN) [13] def. Rodrigo RAMOS CODES (ESP) 6-1 6-0

Hernando Jose ESCURRA ISNARDI (PAR) [15] def. James VAN DEINSE (USA) 6-1 6-1

Joao Victor Couto LOUREIRO (BRA) [5] def. Sebastian Mendoza (USA) 6-2 7-5

Joshua SHEEHY (USA) [7] def. Codrin MILLER (USA) 6-3 6-2

Jesse FLORES (CRC) [3] def. Rihirt SAUNDANKAR (USA) 6-0 6-0

Abraham ASABA (GHA) [14] def. Yuki IKEDA (JPN) 6-4 6-1

Kevin MAJOR (BAH) [10] def. Jake KRUG (USA) 6-3 6-3

Hillel ROUSSEAU (HAI) [11] def. Varun JAYARAM (USA) 6-3 6-1

MatthewSEGURA (USA) [8] def. Meecah BIGUN (USA) 6-3 6-4

Nikolay SYSOEV (RUS) [9] def. Luca- Julian HOTZE (USA) 7-6(6) 7-6(2)

Former U.S. Open Competitors Lead 2022 Entries To Mardy Fish Tennis At The Boulevard

Randy Walker · April 16, 2022 · Leave a Comment

VERO BEACH – Five players who have competed in the main draw in either singles or doubles at the U.S. Open tennis championships highlight the field of players scheduled to play in the $15,000 Mardy Fish Children’s Foundation Tennis Championships to be held April 25-May 1 at The Boulevard Tennis Club.

John McNally of Cincinnati, Sekou Bangoura of Bradenton, Fla., and Martin Damm of Bradenton, Fla., all of whom have competed at the U.S. Open main draw in doubles, are among the leading entries into this entry-level professional tennis tournament that benefits the Mardy Fish Children’s Foundation, created by Vero Beach native son and 2004 Olympic silver medalist Mardy Fish. Collin Altamirano of Sacramento, Calif., who competed in singles at the U.S. Open in 2013 and 2018, and Ryan Shane of Falls Church, Va., who played in singles in the 2015 U.S. Open, are on the entry list to compete in the qualifying rounds of the event.

“It’s exciting to have players who have already competed on our country’s grandest stage, the U.S. Open in New York, play here in Vero Beach at The Boulevard in our tournament this year,” said Tom Fish, President Emeritus of the Mardy Fish Children’s Foundation and the father of Mardy Fish. “Every year, players who have competed in our event in Vero Beach have gone on to achieve great things around the world in tennis and this year will be no different. We are excited to host our enthusiastic, knowledgeable and appreciative fans whose patronage benefits such a great cause in our Mardy Fish Children’s Foundation, which benefits at-risk children in our community.”

McNally, a former standout at Ohio State University and the brother of WTA doubles standout Caty McNally, competed in the 2016 U.S. Open doubles tournament alongside J.J. Wolf, falling in the first round to Chris Guccione of Australia and Andre Sa of Brazil. Bangoura, who was also the singles and doubles runner-up in Vero Beach in 2019, played in the 2010 U.S. Open doubles tournament with Nathan Pasha, falling in the first round to Michael Kohlmann of Germany and Jarkko Nieminen of Finland. Damm, the son of 2006 U.S. doubles champion Martin Damm, Sr., advanced into the second round of the U.S. Open in doubles in 2019 alongside Toby Kodat, becoming the youngest men’s doubles team to win a U.S. Open match in the Open Era. They defeated Americans Mitchell Krueger and Tim Smyzcek in the first round before losing to French Open champions Kevin Krawietz and Andreas Mies of Germany.

Altamirano qualified for the U.S. Open in 2018, beating current top 30 player Lorenzo Sonego of Italy and former top 20 player Ivo Karlovic of Croatia en route, before losing to Ugo Hubert of France in the first round. He also played in the 2013 U.S. Open as the reigning USTA National Boy’s 18 champion, losing in the first round to Philipp Kohlschreiber of Germany. Shane competed in the main draw of the 2015 U.S. Open after winning the NCAA singles title for the University of Virginia, losing in the first round in four sets to Jeremy Chardy of France.

Other leading Mardy Fish entries include several fan favorites from previous editions of the event including three-time Mardy Fish “wild card” event winner Matthew Segura of Apopka, Fla., the great nephew of tennis legend Pancho Segura, 2018 and 2021 Mardy Fish runner-up Ricardo Rodridugez of Venezuela and Liam Draxl of Canada, who was the No. 1 seed at the 2021 NCAA singles championship competing for the University of Kentucky and a semifinalist in Vero Beach in 2021.

Top-ranked American junior players Cooper Williams of New York, Nico Godsick of Chagrin Falls, Ohio (the son of two-time Olympic gold medalist Mary Joe Fernandez and Roger Federer’s agent Tony Godsick), Alex Bernard of Naples, Florida, current Easter Bowl champion Alex Michelsen of Aliso Viejo, Calif., and Nishesh Basavareddy of Carmel, Ind., are also scheduled to compete in the tournament.

After a two-year hiatus, daily tickets will once again be sold at the tournament and can be purchased for a 25 percent discount of $30 online at www.MardyFishChildrensFoundation.org. Tickets at the door will cost $40 per day. Reserved seating, season tickets and sponsorships are also available on the website or by contacting Mardy Fish Children’s Foundation Executive Director Lynn Southerly at LSouth1072@gmail.com The tournament is returning to its traditional late April date after being held in October the last two years due to the COVID-19 pandemic. All proceeds to the event benefit the Mardy Fish Children’s Foundation, that benefits at-risk youth in Indian River County. The Mardy Fish Children’s Foundation is a U.S. Tennis Association Pro Circuit event that is part of the International Tennis Federation World Tennis Tour. In addition to prize money, competitors compete for ATP Tour ranking points at this entry-level professional event.

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.

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 new top 10 start 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. 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.

Leading tournament sponsors for 2022 include Grand Slam Sponsors: George E. Warren Corporation, The Jake Owen Foundation, John’s Island Real Estate, Tom Collins Insurance Agency, Cabana/Box Seat Sponsors: Michael and Kathleen Pierce, Gene Simonsen, John and Charlotte Klein, Peter and Maureen Lee, Bob and Lace Milligan, Micky and Rob Stein, Bob and Emilie Burr, Lynn Southerly, John and Sara Marshall, John and Marie McConnell, Shirley Becker, Hadleigh Investments LLC, Peter and Ellen Kendall, Cliff Norris Real Estate LLC, Indian River Primary Care and Supporting Sponsors: Syde Hurdus Foundation, Mike and Meg Hickey/M&M Realty, Nalzarro Music, Hoskins, Turco, Lloyd & Lloyd, Center Court Outfitters, Foglia Contracting, Offfutt, Barton, Schlitt, Inc, Orchid Island Real Estate, Joe and Gloria Papalardo, Linda Delaney, Dave and Nina Piacquad, Jaime Yordan, Katharine “Kissy” Russel, Wilmington Trust, Rebecca Emmons, Linda Johnson, Anne Faunce, Kaye Manly, Mark Thurn, Estee Brashears, Roby Pierce and Ron Hartwig, Matt Wynne, Willem and Marion DeVogel, Ron Chesley, Dorothy Sprague and Bill Benedict, Dr. Collin Kitchell, Tim Palmer of Treasure Coast Tennis Association, Minuteman Press and The Boulevard Tennis Club.

Garza, Osorio Win “Battle For Billy” Charity Fundraiser at The Boulevard

Randy Walker · March 30, 2022 · Leave a Comment

Dani Garza and Marco Osorio, Vero Beach’s Mexican doubles team, were victorious in the “Battle for Billy” doubles exhibition Tuesday at The Boulevard, defeating Christian Docter and Eddie Majcher 6-4 in the one-set final.

The one-night special event was organized by Christophe Delevaut of The Boulevard and “King of the Hill” founder Gigi Casapu as a fund-raiser for area teaching pro Billy Alymeyda, who was severely injured in a car accident several weeks ago on the way to work to the Aquarina Club.

About 400 fans attended the event that featured 12 area tennis pros who played three rotations of “fast 4” sets, with Garza and Osorio, both former Davis Cuppers for Mexico who teach at The Boulevard and Grand Harbor in Vero Beach, respectively, emerging undefeated in the first three matches. Docter, from the Sea Oaks Club, and Majcher, from Palm City, had a 2-1 round-robin record and advanced in a tiebreaker on games lost and tiebreaker points lost.

“His chance to survive was the seat belt and the air bags,” wrote Casapu in an email promoting the event of Alymeyda “His face and one eye were affected due to the air bag expansion at the impact. After surgeries in the hospital, Billy started physiotherapy and recovery process in a specialized center. Right now Billy is continuing his physiotherapy home every day helped by family and professional physiotherapists. Billy makes progress every day, working hard with determination to be healthy again and to be able to do his work at Aquarina Club.Billy is one of the most respected and loved professional in the area because of his work ethic, respect for his club members and fellows professionals, for his professionalism and for his involvement in fund raisers and charity events in Vero Beach and Sebastian communities.”

Those wishing to contribute to the GoFundMe account for Alymeyda, can contribute here: https://www.gofundme.com/f/assistance-for-billy-and-his-family?utm_campaign=p_cp+share-sheet&utm_medium=email&utm_source=customer

The Boulevard will next host its marquee event, the 2022 Mardy Fish Children’s Foundation Tennis Championships $15,000 ITF World Tennis Tour USTA Pro Circuit event, April 25 – May 1.

Five Months After Mardy Fish Win In Vero Beach, Jerry Shang Competes With World’s Best At The Miami Open

Randy Walker · March 24, 2022 · Leave a Comment

From the Mardy Fish Children’s Foundation Tennis Championships at The Boulevard to the Miami Open at Hard Rock Stadium.

That’s the journey that 17-year-old Jerry Shang has taken in matter of just five months.

The 2021 singles champion at Vero Beach’s annual $15,000 U.S. Tennis Association Pro Circuit ITF World Tennis Tour tournament in October, Shang received a “wild card” entry into one of the biggest tennis tournaments in the world, where his name was placed in the same singles draw as current greats Daniil Medvedev, Stefanos Tsitsipas and Andy Murray among many others.

Shang drew former U.S. Olympian Denis Kudla, the world No. 81, in the first round and in a topsy-turvy battle that last two minutes shy of three hours, Shang was defeated 6-7 (3), 7-5, 6-4 on Wednesday, night March 23.

Shang dazzled many times through the match, edging out a first-set tiebreaker, and actually served for the match at 5-4 in the second set. Nerves, naturally, set in for the young player on the cusp of the biggest win in his fledging pro career, as missed first serves and errors littered his efforts. Kudla won five games in a row to not only take the second set, but lead by a break 2-0 in the third set. Kudla, a veteran 29-year-old player who reached the fourth round at Wimbledon in 2015, appeared to hold the momentum in the match and seemed poised to win an easy win in the third set. However, Shang remained determined and won four games in a row to serve at 4-3 in the final set, again at the doorstep at a big first-round win. Nerves, and a resilient Kudla, took hold again as Kudla was able to reel off the last three games of the match.

Since he beat Ricardo Rodriguez in the final of the Mardy Fish Children’s Foundation Tennis Championship in the event’s special “October edition” at The Boulevard as a player ranked No. 1041, Shang has improved his ATP singles ranking to No. 441 while playing events on the $15,000 and $25,000 level on the ITF World Tennis Tour event, as well as Challengers and ATP Tour events. He played his first ATP Tour level evet in Rio de Janiero in February, losing to world No. 62 Pedro Martinez 6-3, 6-4. After winning the $15,000 event in Naples, Florida, He won two qualifying matches against two top 150-ranked players (No. 100 Francisco Cerundolo and No. 128 Mats Moraing) to reach the main draw of the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells before losing to No. 99 Jaume Munar of Spain.

Shang’s recent results would indicate that he has now moved beyond playing in $15,000 events like Vero Beach, the lowest level of professional tennis. However, if Shang is unable to gain entries in Challenger-level events this April, a return trip to Vero Beach could be in the cards. The 2022 Mardy Fish Children’s Foundation Tennis Championships will be held April 25-May 1 at The Boulevard. For ticket, box seat and sponsorship information, go to www.MardyFishChildrensFoundation.org.

Jerry Shang (far side) and Denis Kudla at the Miami Open

USTA Florida Head Laura Bowen Discusses Potential Riverside Park Tennis Partnership For Vero Beach

Randy Walker · March 19, 2022 · 1 Comment

Laura Bowen, the executive director of the USTA Florida section, participates in a question and answer session to discuss the situation with regard to USTA Florida potentially taking over the management of the tennis facility at Riverside Park in Vero Beach.

Tell us a bit about the USTA Florida Facility Management Program?

LAURA BOWEN: Our Board of Directors started looking at tennis management services in early 2017. Several of our Board members have spent decades managing public tennis centers in Florida. Unfortunately, budget pressures on cities had led some municipalities in the state to consider eliminating tennis courts when they are not being used. Several public parks had reached out to us over the years and asked if USTA Florida would help manage their public tennis facilities. We decided to get into the management business to help prevent facilities from closing AND to learn more about why public tennis centers were struggling to bring in new players.

It’s important to share that, although direct management is something we can offer, it’s not all that we do, and not all facilities are a fit for us. More often than not, we provide different levels of advice and guidance to cities who request it. This can be as simple as answering questions about clay court maintenance or getting bids on projects and as complicated as a full facility evaluation and transformation. We will provide guidance and professional assessments to any city that requests it – for free.

What communities are currently part of this program and how has it been received?

LAURA BOWEN: Our first location was Racquet Club of Cocoa Beach, which we started managing in December of 2017. We added Fort Walton Beach Tennis Center and the city-owned courts in Gainesville in 2019. In all three instances, we met with the community before we took on the location to listen to what the residents and players wanted. We then tailored our programs and services around their needs. In all three cases, programs have expanded, revenues have increased, and we now have strong relationships with the communities.

It’s common for residents to view USTA Florida as an outsider who is coming in to change everything. It’s also common for people to view USTA Florida as just leagues and tournaments. In reality, we are an organization of volunteers, staff and players who play and deliver tennis all over the state. We see ourselves as a community partner that is willing to take our resources and expertise and apply them to bring more tennis play opportunities to the community. We understand that it takes a little bit of a leap of faith on both sides to go into a partnership, but the outcome has universally been positive.

What is USTA Florida paid by communities to run this management program? How do the financials work?

LAURA BOWEN: We are a 501c4 not-for-profit organization. When we take on a facility, we are not interested in making money. Same goes for our programs. We exist to grow the game of tennis. We are willing to absorb extra costs of programs in order to get more people playing tennis locally.

Our goals with tennis management are first and foremost to keep tennis courts from being eliminated due to lack of use, and second, to provide as many tennis programs and play opportunities to the community as possible. We are not paid anything from the cities for our services. Quite the opposite. To date, we have invested more than $2 million in the three facilities we manage. Every dime we have collected in revenue has gone into programs, play and facility improvements. When/if the facility is profitable, we put that money back into the facility. We also provide clear and transparent financial reports to our city partners. The city sees exactly what we spend and what we bring in.

People in Vero Beach are worried that if the USTA Florida comes in to manage its Riverside Park public courts that fees will be increased. Will they?

LAURA BOWEN: Let me start by stating clearly that USTA Florida has not presented any contract for management services to the city. We have provided an assessment of the current services and our recommendations for growth, which I personally promised to the Recreation Commission at its February meeting.

We have been asked questions and have provided information on the types of contracts we normally do. That doesn’t mean we would do the same thing in a contract with the City of Vero Beach. Every situation is different. We made a decision not to enter contract negotiations with the City of Vero Beach without the council and community supporting those efforts.

Reports that we approached the city initially to “take over” the facility are also inaccurate. I personally received a request from tennis advocates in the summer of 2021 to come to Vero and discuss the possibility of managing the location. This request came immediately after a separate group offered to convert four of the courts to pickleball and manage those courts under a proposed agreement with the city.

We have recommended in our assessment that the daily court fees be reduced. The current drop-in rates are high compared to other public tennis facilities in the State of Florida. The membership rates are also out of line with best practices in the state of Florida. Some are low and some are reasonable, but they do not align. Again, we explain this in our assessment. Ultimately, the city council determines the fees at the tennis center, not USTA Florida.

Another concern is that people who have their normal everyday morning games will now have their court time taken away. Could this happen?

LAURA BOWEN: No. We want to expand programs, not replace them. Morning round-robin play seems to be vibrant and should continue.

Will there still be free court time offered at Riverside Park if the USTA Florida takes over its management?

LAURA BOWEN: We offer free court time at all of our facilities for various reasons. This is a common practice.

What will happen to the current staff at Riverside Park Tennis if the USTA Florida comes in?

LAURA BOWEN: The current staff are employees of the City of Vero Beach. That is a question for the city. We do not comment on what another entity should do with its employees.

USTA Florida is an equal opportunity employer. We create jobs based on needs at each location and grade them appropriately. All of our job openings are posted publicly on Indeed and they include pay rates. We also have an independent compensation consultant that audits all positions and pay to ensure equity and fairness.

We have not created any job descriptions for Riverside. That would only occur if we entered into a contract negotiation. As mentioned previously, we are not at that point.

What happens to the freelance tennis pros who currently teach at Riverside Park?

LAURA BOWEN: Tennis professionals who have a contract with the city would need to discuss their contract terms with the city. We have provided recommendations in our assessment regarding best practices that many cities apply in their contracts with tennis professionals who teach on city-owned courts. The City of Vero Beach is welcome to follow those recommendations or not.

USTA Florida directly employs all of our teaching professionals. We do this for a variety of reasons, mainly to ensure all teaching professionals are certified, trained, Safe Play approved, and background checked. We provide all training and professional development and support for those employees at our cost.

Will the USTA have a tennis pro shop at Riverside Park that could potentially compete with other tennis stores in Vero Beach?

LAURA BOWEN: We have not assessed this portion of the existing operation, but the building appears too small for an operation that would compete with a local tennis shop. The typical things we offer at our other locations are balls and stringing services. We do not typically offer merchandise in the way that a private club or local tennis shop does.

Will the USTA still allow St. Edwards to have its varsity, junior varsity and middle school tennis matches and programming at Riverside Park?

LAURA BOWEN: Yes. We do this at our other locations. It’s usually written into our contracts with the cities.

What kind of programs would you be implementing that locals can perhaps participate in and look forward to?

LAURA BOWEN: As noted in our assessment, youth programs seem to be a missing piece. We first visited Riverside in August of 2021 and asked if there were weekly summer camps being provided. We were told there were not. That is a big entry point for kids of all ages. It’s also important for any tennis center to have regular after-school programs for youth of all ages. Those generally happen from 3-6pm. Adaptive (Special Olympics), wheelchair tennis, and adult beginner programs are also areas of opportunity that we are seeing thrive at other public tennis centers.

Would local residents have to join the USTA to play at the courts? To play in clinics or play in tournaments or round-robins or leagues?

LAURA BOWEN: No. You are only required to be a USTA member to play in USTA Adult Leagues and Sanctioned Tournaments. USTA Membership requirements and pricing is set by the USTA (national) board.

What kind of facility upgrades would the USTA Florida implement and who would pay for it? New nets? Windscreens? Court resurfacing?

LAURA BOWEN: Our understanding is the city has already purchased new windscreens. We have offered to resurface the four remaining courts and provide nets, at our expense.

It’s important for the city and the residents to understand that USTA Florida and USTA offer grants for things like court improvements, equipment and programs. These funds are available to public tennis centers across the state. We have advised the city to use these grants to help cover some of these costs in the future.

What else would you like to share?

LAURA BOWEN: Tennis is booming in Florida. According to the Tennis Industry Association’s annual participation report, Florida saw a 26% increase in play in 2020, and another 8% increase in 2021. The majority of that play is happening on public tennis courts. Public tennis centers across the state are seeing tremendous growth. To reinvigorate the courts at Riverside to be a place for new players to come and participate with the existing residents would be fantastic for tennis and for the city.

Whatever the residents and city decide in terms of management of the facility, USTA Florida will continue to provide our support to all tennis facilities in Vero Beach.

We are looking forward to having a more direct dialog with residents, and are hopeful that we can schedule a public town hall in the coming weeks.