GODFREY – It's a long road for any tennis player who wants to get to the Association of Tennis Professionals international world tour and the big stage of the Grand Slam tournaments (the Kia Australian Open, the French Open at Roland Garros in Paris, The Championships at Wimbledon and the U.S. Open at Flushing Meadows in New York).
But the road has to start somewhere, and the United States Tennis Association's Pro Circuit and Futures tournaments are a way for up-and-coming and aspiring professionals to earn their way to the top.
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Godfrey and Edwardsville are part of a four-city Illinois Swing of USTA Pro Circuit events that will get under way Monday with the 19th edition of the Lewis and Clark Community College Men's Futures Tournament at LCCC's Simpson Tennis Center and running through July 24, with the ECGM Foundation's Edwardsville Futures Tournament beginning July 25 at the Edwardsville High School tennis center and running through July 31. The swing moves to Decatur Aug. 1-7 for the Ursula Beck Pro Tennis Classic and concludes Aug. 8-14 with the CarX Futures of Champaign-Urbana tournament.
The upcoming LCCC tournament and the Illinois Swing portion of the tour was the subject of a Friday afternoon press conference at LCCC's River Bend Arena; all four tournaments offer a $25,000 purse each in both men's singles and doubles play and gives up-and-coming players a chance to play against opponents from across the county and even around the world in professional tournaments. Many of the world's best-known players got their start in tournaments such as this.
“This tournament impacts more than the just the people who are here,” LCCC tournament director Doug Stotler. “I can give you a story of when I first became the tournament director, my daughters (Rachel and Madi) were 9 and 10 years old; the first year I was tournament director, after a long day, I went home and both my daughters had strung a garden hose across two lawn chairs, and as soon as I walked in the door, handed me a racket and said, 'come on, dad, we're going to go play'.
“That was their first exposure to tennis, so this tournament launched their high school careers (at Jersey), which I'm so absolutely proud of, but it impacts far more than just our community; it impacts people of all ages.”
While the impact of having an international-class tournament in the Godfrey and Edwardsville areas is big, it also means a major economic impact for the regions hosting the tournaments. “Not only it's going to be great for Godfrey,” said Alton mayor Brant Walker, “it means a lot for Godfrey to have an institution like Lewis and Clark Community College and the USTA recognizes what a wonderful facility (the Simpson Center) is. As far as for the entire Riverbend area, particularly Godfrey and Alton, it means a lot to us as cities because of the economic impact.
“Our hotels will be full, our restaurants will be full, people will be shopping – it's a wonderful event to host in our community.”
USTA Pro Circuit Director Brian Earley – who also serves as a referee for the U.S. Open – also recognizes the importance of the tournaments in the Illinois Swing, not only for the impact the tournaments make for the hosting cities, but for the future of the sport. “This is such an important level of professional tennis and it's become more and more important over the years,” Earley said, “to the development of the next generation of American players. They're not just playing American players, they're playing an international field and getting international ranking points that are so important to them making the next step.”
Spectators to the tournaments could well see a future Grand Slam singles or doubles champion in play during the four-week swing. “No question about it,” Earley said of the possibility of a future Grand Slam winner playing here. “You track the players who have played here, and you'll see some very high-profile players who have started at this level and come through here.”
One of those aspiring players is Michael Peters, who teamed up with Dylan Steffens to win the doubles competition in the recent Bud Simpson Open and earned a wild-card entry into the tournament. “It's a great opportunity, Peters – who is from Ladue, Mo., and played high school tennis at John Burroughs before going to Harvard to play tennis for the Crimson – said. “The level of play out here is going to be so high; Dylan and I are really excited.
“We were very fortunate to be able to play well and win the Bud Simpson Open and get a chance to play out here. We want to put our best foot forward and play well here. The field at these Futures tournaments here are the highest compared to futures tournaments around the world; (the Illinois Swing tournaments) all bring in some great players and it's pretty amazing to have this Illinois Swing.”
Singles qualifying play for the main 32-player draw was scheduled to begin Saturday morning, with the main draw commencing on Tuesday; doubles play in the tournament will begin Monday, with finals in both singles and doubles set for July 24 at the Simpson Center. For more information on the tournament, with live scorin
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