USTA TRAVEL OFFICE NEEDS TO SEND U.S. PROS TO QUALIES @SLAMS

Written by: Staff on 28th April 2014

USTA TRAVEL OFFICE NEEDS TO SEND U.S. PROS TO QUALIES @SLAMS |

Editors note : This post has 3 editors notes. They are all over the place. It’s a Monday . Please read them all. They all tie in.

Har-Tru USTA Pro Circuit Wild Card Challenge Standings

(as of April 28)

Grace Min and Daniel Kosakowski lead the Har-Tru USTA Pro Circuit Wild Card Challenge Standings as the race for a main draw wild card into the French Open concludes this week at the Tallahassee (Fla.) Tennis Challenger and Audi Melbourne Pro Tennis Classic in Indian Harbour Beach, Fla. Tallahassee and Indian Harbour Beach will be streamed live this week on www.procircuit.usta.com.

USTA Player Development will award a French Open main draw wild card to one American man and one American woman who earn the most ATP World Tour and WTA Tour ranking points in a series of USTA Pro Circuit clay-court events this spring.

Ranking points from two out of the three men’s and women’s events will be used and combined to calculate the point total and determine the French Open wild card recipient. If a player competes in more than two events, only his or her two best tournaments will be counted in calculating the point total. In the event of a tie, the player with the best ATP or WTA singles ranking in the published rankings of Monday, May 5, will be awarded the wild card. Only players who have not earned direct acceptance into the French Open are eligible for the wild card.

The standings, as of April 28, are as follows:

Men’s Har-Tru USTA Pro Circuit Wild Card Challenge*

Player Name

Sarasota, FL

($100,000)

Savannah, GA

($50,000)

Tallahassee, FL

($50,000)

Total Points

1. Daniel Kosakowski

2. Alex Kuznetsov

3. Evan King

—

4. Bobby Reynolds

*The men’s wild card will be awarded from the best combined results in two of the three events above.

Jack Sock earned 48 points by reaching the final of Savannah, but has direct entry into the French Open. Donald Young earned 18 points by reaching the quarterfinals of Sarasota, but also has direct entry into the French Open.

Women’s Har-Tru USTA Pro Circuit Wild Card Challenge*

Player Name

Dothan, AL

($50,000)

Charlottesville, VA

($50,000)

Indian Harbour Beach, FL ($50,000)

Total

Points

1. Grace Min

109

2. Taylor Townsend

3. Victoria Duval

4. Allie Kiick

5. Sanaz Marand

—

*The women’s wild card will be awarded from the best combined results in two of the three events above.

The USTA first used this wild card challenge format for its 2012 French Open wild cards, won by Melanie Oudin and Brian Baker. Oudin and Baker each advanced to the second round at that year’s French Open and subsequently broke into the Top 100. Last year, Alex Kuznetsov and Shelby Rogers earned the wild cards with Rogers winning her first-ever Grand Slam singles match at the French Open.

Har-Tru Sports, the leading provider of clay tennis courts, is in its second year as title sponsor of the challenge after signing a three-year agreement in 2013. New this year, Har-Tru is launching a “Be One with the Clay” video contest in which tennis fans of all ages can create a video, demonstrating how clay courts have impacted their games. The contest winner will win a trip for two to the JW Marriott Desert Springs Resort & Spa in Palm Springs, Calif. More information can be found at www.beonewiththeclay.com.

Editors Note : We love har-tru .thank you for supporting tennis. Please do us one favor for RON from Indian Wells : when selling your product please explain to the clubs and maintenance people or your teaching pros on how to care for the material and the courts. Most places underwater. A lot of places dont roll enough. And so many places don’t understand about the need for calcium chloride. I think that one irks Ron the most. Ok we said it. Cross that off our list. We love the surface. It’s great.

Re : The USTA and these playoffs…… We could go on for days. But we will stick to the bottom line.

The USTA travel office should send each of these players and their own coaches to play in France on the RED clay in the real Qualification tourney. It’s called growth in the sport with the top players we currently have.

Topics: Daniel Kosakowski, Grace Min, Har-Tru, Tennis News, Usta