The United States Tennis Association (USTA) is adding events to its lower-tier professional circuit. Southern Methodist University will host one of the tournaments on the Oracle Pro Series.
The new series will be funded by Oracle while InsideOut Sports manages the circuit. The tournament is currently scheduled for Oct. 20-27, 2019, and it will offer more professional tennis opportunities for younger American tennis players.
The New York Times said that the cost of playing tennis professionally in lower tiers is prohibitive to college students. Additionally, those costs make it difficult for players to sustain a career in the lower leagues without a breakthrough to the main professional Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) or the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP).
Events 2019:
Oct 6 –13 The Claremont Club, LA.
Oct 13 –20 Baylor University, Waco, Texas
Oct 20 –27 TCU – Fort Worth (ATP)
Oct 20 –27 SMU – Dallas (WTA)
November 4–10 Pepperdine, Malibu, CA
Nov 11–17 USTA National Campus – Orlando
Nov 17 –24 Sanchez-Casal Academy, Naples— Christopher Clarey 🇺🇸 🇫🇷 🇪🇸 (@christophclarey) September 4, 2019
“This is intended above all to help the pathway for players in the United States,” InsideOut Sports’ Jim Courier told The New York Times.
The new series will take place on weeks and weekends not occupied by the 113 tournaments scheduled for 2019, according to Stacey Allaster, USTA chief executive for professional tennis.
For colleges like SMU, the tournament will give more local professionals the opportunity to showcase their talents while accruing points for either the WTA or ATP. It will also allow more tournaments for young professionals at a more sustainable cost. This will hopefully give them a better platform to launch their careers into the higher levels of professional tennis.
The underlying message of these tournaments is quality, not quantity. By adding the Oracle Pro Series to an expansive list of lower tier tournaments, the USTA hopes to produce more young tennis professionals who can win at the highest levels of tennis.
