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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.

Features, Vero Beach Champions Billy Alymeyda, Boulevard, Dani Garza, Marco Osorio

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

Features, Vero Beach Champions ATP, Jerry Shang, Mardy Fish, Miami Open, Vero Beach

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.

Laura Bowen and Riverside Park Tennis
Laura Bowen and Riverside Park Tennis

Features, Vero Beach Champions Laura Bowen, Riverside Park, USTA Florida, Vero Beach

Perez-Blanco, Hamza Set For April 26 Tuesday Night Start At Mardy Fish Tennis After “King of the Hill” Success Awards Them “Wild Cards”

Randy Walker · March 12, 2022 · Leave a Comment

Chase Perez-Blanco of Quail Valley, the winner of Vero Beach’s “King of the Hill” competition, and Slim Hamza of The Moorings Club, the “King of the Hill” runner-up, have officially been awarded a main draw doubles wild card into the 2022 Mardy Fish Children’s Foundation Tennis Championships, the $15,000 ITF World Tennis Tour USTA Pro Circuit event to be played April 25 – May 1 at The Boulevard.

Perez-Blanco and Hamza will play their opening round doubles match against ATP-ranked professionals as the feature night match on Tuesday, April 26.

“We are so happy to award a main draw doubles wild card to the ‘King of the Hill’ winner and runner-up, which has become a nice local Vero Beach tradition,” said Tom Fish, co-tournament director of the Mardy Fish Children’s Foundation Tennis Championships. “Chase has been a key figure in the Vero Beach tennis scene the last few years and Slim had been an exciting new addition to our community. Both played high-level and entertaining tennis at ‘King of the Hill’ and we are looking forward to seeing them compete against ranked professionals starting on Tuesday night at our official pro tour event.”

In 2019, Perez-Blanco and “King of the Hill” runner-up Andrew Butz came within two points of winning a first-round doubles match against ATP ranked players, losing to Andrew Watson of Great Britain and Paul Oosterbaan of Michigan 6-2, 4-6 (10-8)

Hamza has competed against such players as Jamie Murray and Ernests Gulbis and reached the doubles final at a $15,000 event in Tunisia in 2014.

For information on Mardy Fish Children’s Foundation tickets, including reserved seating, sponsorship seating and general admission, go to www.MardyFishChildrensFoundation.org or email Lynn Southerly at LSouth1072@gmail.com Daily tickets will be available for $40 ($30 paid in advance online). Season tickets will be $200 and reserved and sponsorship seating and packages are also available.

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.

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. 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.

Chase Perez-Blanco and Slim Hamza

Features, Vero Beach Champions Chase Perez-Blanco, King of the Hill, Slim Hamza

Chase Perez-Blanco Wins 2022 “King of the Hill” Open Division

Randy Walker · March 7, 2022 · Leave a Comment

Chase Perez-Blanco of the Quail Valley Club won the “King of the Hill” open division title for a third time on Thursday, March 4 at The Boulevard making his claim as the top tennis player in Vero Beach.

The former University of Florida standout earned the most games in the final night of competition, beating out runner-up Slim Hamza of The Moorings Club, Robert Kowalczyk of The Boulevard and Joseph van Deinse of the Vero Beach Tennis Club.

The final night of the seven Thursdays of competitions attracted more than 500 spectators and closed out perhaps the best “King of the Hill” season ever.

“A lot of spectators came from The Moorings Club, supporting their local pro Slim Hamza, from Quail Valley for Chase Perez Blanco, from The Boulevard for Robert Kowalczyk and from Vero Beach Tennis Club supporting Joseph Van Deinse,” wrote Gigi Capascu, the King of the Hill organizer, in his wrap-up email on the event. “The players gave it all. Each round was very animated and the spectators were applauding  great moments of play and shot making. After two rounds Chase was in the lead. Joseph was Chase’s partner in the third round, and they played very well together. Chase made the necessary number of points to win the title by a point, followed by Slim, Robert and Joseph.”

The event benefits Youth Guidance in Vero Beach, Florida.

Features, Vero Beach Champions Chase Perez-Blanco, King of the Hill, Slim Hamza

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verofutures Vero Beach Futures @verofutures ·
20 Jun

In the semifinals, Quinn beat future Univ. of Georgia teammate Alex Michelsen 6-4, 4-6, 6-4 after being down 0-3, 15-40 in the final set! https://twitter.com/VeroFutures/status/1538692074106675202

Vero Beach Futures @VeroFutures

Congrats to our 2022 singles runner-up Ethan Quinn for winning his first pro title at the 15K USTA Pro Circuit event in San Diego on Sunday defeating NCAA singles runner-up August Holmgren of Denmark 36 76(7) 76 (4) saving FIVE MATCH POINTS.

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verofutures Vero Beach Futures @verofutures ·
15 Jun

Match points! Fish Foundation tennis event has ‘best year ever’ - 32963 Features, People - Vero News http://veronews.com/2022/06/09/match-points-fish-foundation-tennis-event-has-best-year-ever/#.YqoD_C_UPoc.twitter

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13 Jun

A nice buzz of activity Monday morning at Riverside Park, highlighted by the summer kids camp funded by the ⁦@MardyFish Children’s Foundation

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tennisverobeach TennisVeroBeach @tennisverobeach ·
13 Jun

Mark Monday, June 20 on your calendar for conversations about tennis in Vero Beach - and some interaction on the courts at Riverside Park as well!

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tennisverobeach TennisVeroBeach @tennisverobeach ·
25 May

A weasel sighting at The Boulevard pond in Vero Beach that ⁦@MyFWC⁩ amd ⁦@MyFWClife⁩ would be interested in from a few weeks ago

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