Professional women's tennis is coming to Tyler, Texas in the Fall of 2017. Tyler Athletic and Swim Club, owned and managed by Cliff Drysdale Management, announced today that they will host the First Annual Tyler Pro Challenge, to be held October 29 – November 5. The tournament is an $80,000 USTA Pro Circuit event.
"We're incredibly excited to be bringing tennis of the highest level to Tyler," said Jake Baranowski, Tournament Director. "Our community truly loves the sport of tennis, and this will be an amazing opportunity to watch some of world's best players and rising stars compete right in front of us."
The Tyler Pro Challenge is one of three qualifying women's tournaments in the USTA's Australian Open Wild Card Challenge. The woman who earns the most WTA ranking points at two of three tournaments (Macon, Tyler, Waco) will earn a main draw wild card into the 2018 Australian Open.
Tournament proceeds will benefit ACEing Autism, a national non-profit that connects children with autism through unique tennis programs. ACEing Autism will be launching a program at the new Tyler Athletic and Swim Club at a date to be announced soon.
For sponsorship, event and ticket information, please contact Jake Baranowski at jakeb@cliffdrysdale.com. For media inquiries, please contact Joey Hanf at j.hanf@cliffdrysdale.com.
About the USTA Pro Circuit
With approximately 90 tournaments hosted annually throughout the country and prize money ranging from $15,000 to $125,000, the USTA Pro Circuit is the pathway to the US Open and tour level competition for aspiring tennis players and a frequent battleground for established professionals. The USTA launched its Pro Circuit 38 years ago to provide players with the opportunity to gain professional ranking points, and it has since grown to become the largest developmental tennis circuit in the world, offering more than $3 million in prize money. Last year, more than 1,000 men and women from more than 70 countries competed in cities nationwide. Andy Murray, Maria
Sharapova, John Isner, Sloane Stephens, Kei Nishikori, Victoria Azarenka, and Sam Querrey are among today's top stars who began their careers on the USTA Pro Circuit.
About Cliff Drysdale Management
Founded in 2001 by International Tennis Hall of Fame member Cliff Drysdale and partner Don Henderson, specializes in daily tennis and fitness operations and management for resorts, hotels and private clubs; sports design and construction consultation for companies interested in building world-class facilities; educational programs, summer camps, clinics and retreats; and resort, hotel corporate outing planning and leisure operations. CDM is dedicated to growing the game of tennis and strives to develop, promote and teach new programs that bring more tennis to more people. As the sport continues to grow, as does the CDM commitment to hire, educate and advance talented tennis professionals that provide service excellence both on and off the court. Cliff Drysdale Management’s property portfolio currently boasts 30 tennis facilities nationwide, including multiple Gold, Silver and Bronze Medal ranked tennis resorts on Tennis Resorts Online’s Top 100 list. For more information, visit www.cliffdrysdale.com
About Tyler Athletic & Swim Club
In 2015, Cliff Drysdale Management partnered with Oak Creek Development of Tyler, TX to provide Tyler residents with a new multi-million dollar tennis, fitness and swim facility located along Oak Creek Boulevard.
Situated on a ten acre parcel within Oak Creek, the brand new 14,000 square foot clubhouse, outdoor pool and recreation areas, as well as 12 lighted tennis courts opened to rave reviews on May 27, 2017. The amenity is available to transitioned members of the former Tyler Tennis & Swim club located on Shiloh Rd, Oak Creek residents, as well as a limited number of single and family memberships for the public.
The new facility embodies the spirit of Drysdale's "Ultimate Lifestyle Club" concept with lifestyle, fitness, family, health and wellness as the focal point and passion of the club team. In addition to the and 12 LED lighted championship hard courts, the club boasts a resort-style pool, poolside cabanas, a kids club and teen lounge, a lighted Astroturf multi-sport field, courtside firepits, and a health café and lounge. The state of the art fitness center is led by one of Tyler’s premier wellness experts, trainer Tony Cruz and his XTC Fitness team.
About ACEing Autism
ACEing Autism was founded in the summer of 2008 by Richard Spurling & Dr. Shafali Jeste in Boston, MA. as a family run organization with the invaluable efforts of its volunteers & supporters. They launched their first program at The Longfellow Club, Wayland (MA) with 15 children. In the spring of 2009 we added a second location, The Weymouth Club in Weymouth (MA). Richard quickly realized that he could greatly
enhance the lives of children and families with autism through tennis, and he made a commitment to dedicate his career to the development and expansion of ACEing Autism.
In early 2010, Shafali was recruited to the UCLA Center for Autism Research and Treatment, a center that has been a leader in the field of autism research for decades. Shafali and Richard relocated to Los Angeles in 2010, and since then Richard has focused on program development and expansion. ACEing Autism currently services more than 500 children with autism across 30 locations nationwide.
ACEing Autism's success lies in their commitment to tailoring the program to the needs of each individual child with autism. In 2013 Richard was honored with the USPTR’s Humanitarian of Year Award for his work building this program and in August 2014 ACEing Autism was given the USTA’s Community Service Award. For more information, visit aceingautism.org