Troy University Athletics
USTA Tennis Classic of Troy Begins Sunday
10/7/2012 11:13:00 AM | Tennis (W)
Tournament Website (Order of Play) | Additional Information
TROY, Ala. – Professional women's tennis returns to the campus of Troy University in Troy, Alabama for the 10th consecutive year and that means world-class tennis that the entire city and region is invited out to enjoy.
It also means a variety of special events will be taking place during the week; many of which are open to the general public.
Monday, October 8 will be a very special day for everyone associated with the tournament.
Brian Earley, the Director of the USTA Pro Circuit and U.S. Open tournament referee will be coming to Troy for the 10th anniversary of this USTA Pro Circuit event.
In a ceremony at 2pm on Monday, Earley will honor the Tennis Classic of Troy with a plaque commemorating a decade on the USTA Pro Circuit.
A short press conference will follow the ceremony at the Lundsford Tennis Complex and the media and public is invited.
At 3pm on Monday, the annual kid's clinic will take place. This is always one of the most anticipated events of the week and some of the kids look forward to it all year long.
Monday night at 7pm, it's the Player/Sponsor Party. It takes place at The Studio in Troy.
At 6pm on Tuesday, a Pro-Am featuring players from the tournament, sponsors and tennis players from the community will take place. See the players in a more relaxed environment and the participants testing their skills against the best players in the world.
On Thursday at noon, Eric Hayes, tournament director and men's and women's tennis coach at Troy University will conduct another clinic for kids.
At 4:30 on Thursday, there will be a special tennis tailgate before the Western Kentucky vs. Troy University football game. Site TBD.
The kickoff of the Western Kentucky vs. Troy University football will take place at 6:30 and this game will be carried on ESPNU.
Each fall, this tournament has been an important event on the calendar for those in Troy.
"The City of Troy has been a proud sponsor and host of The USTA Women's Tennis Classic of Troy," stated Sheila Jackson, Director of PR and Tourism for the City of Troy. "The tournament has a huge impact on our community, the economic impact, the free clinics for the schools and the boys and girls club."
Headlining the field in 2012 are Edina Gallovits-Hall, a Romanian living in Atlanta that has been ranked as high as No. 54 in the world and has won 18 ITF Circuit titles. Slated to be the No. 2 seed is Michelle Larcher De Brito from Portugal. De Brito plays an exciting brand of tennis and has been ranked as high as No. 74 in the world.
Joining these two will be a group of young Americans looking for a title and breakthrough. These include Chi Chi Scholl, Grace Min and Chieh-Yu Hsu.
The tournament offers $25,000 in prize money to the singles and doubles players and a 64-player qualifying tournament will take place during the opening weekend of the tournament.
A 64-player qualifying tournament will begin on Sunday and survivors along with the wildcards will make up the main draw with the 20 players that gained direct entry.
There will be a lot of tennis to be played the second week in October in Troy. Quite a few of these players have the potential to be the next stars in women's tennis and Troy could once again be an important event on the fall tennis calendar.
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