U.S. National Indoor Tennis Championships Held In Memphis
The ATP Men’s professional tennis tournament and WTA Women’s professional tennis tournament in Memphis, TN will now be known as the U.S. National Indoor Tennis Championships. The tournaments will be played February 16-24, 2013 at The Racquet Club of Memphis.
Players already scheduled to play in the 2013 event include:
- Top ranked American John Isner
- Canadian standout Milos Raonic
- Spanish superstar Fernando Verdasco
- World’s former #1 player Lleyton Hewitt
- World’s #1-ranked doubles team of Mike and Bob Bryan (or the Bryan Brothers)
- With more to be announced soon
By rebranding to the U.S. National Indoor, the tournament creates a new indoor “National Championship” in the United States for tennis. Renaming the tournament will also allow for the launch of a new marketing campaign that will focus on “Tennis Week in Memphis.” Events taking place during the the U.S. National Indoor will include:
- Ladies Day
- Finals Sunday Jazz Brunch
- Kids Day
- Faith and Family Day
- USTA Member Day
- Bourbon and BBQ event
In essence, renaming of the tournament to the U.S. National Indoor Tennis Championships will be returning the men’s tournament to its roots.The origin of the name goes back to 1898 when the U.S. National Indoor Tennis Championships were held in Newton, Massachusetts.
In 1988 the tournament moved to New York City
In 1963 it relocated to Salisbury, Maryland
In 1977 the U.S. National Indoor Tennis Championships moved to Memphis where it has remained
Starting in 1989, the tournament dropped the U.S. National Indoor Tennis Championship name and branded itself with title sponsors.
Former champions of the U.S. National Indoor Tennis Championships include Bobby Riggs in 1948, Pancho Gonzalez in 1949, Bjorn Borg 1977, John McEnroe in 1980 and Andre Agassi in 1988. Additional Memphis Champions included three time winner Andy Roddick, Maria Sharapova, Pete Sampras, Lindsay Davenport, Michael Chang and Venus Williams.
Tickets for the U.S. National Indoor Tennis Championships are on-sale now and are available by calling (901) 765-4401. Additional information about the Championships can be found on the tournament website at www.memphistennis.com.
