By The TimesLedger
Some of the top ranked men’s singles players in the East are expected to compete in the sixth annual Greater Urban Pro Tennis Classic. The tournament begins Sunday July 15 and runs for a week at Cunningham Park in Fresh Meadows.
The USTA/ETA sanctioned event is offering prize money in men’s singles and men’s doubles. However, the breakdown has not as yet been determined.
“A lot depends on the size of the draw,” said Bill Briggs, director of Youth and Tennis, Inc., which is conducting the tournaments.
Last year, Fabian Carchi, of Corona, now at St. John’s University, defeated Sadik Sendich of Staten Island in the finals. Both are ranked among the top 30 players in the East and both indicated that they expect to return.
Briggs also announced that there will be a Level 3 Junior Tournament at the same time at Liberty Park. Briggs started this Open tournament six years ago, and expanded the Classic to a Junior one last year.
“We felt that we needed an adult identification and a major tournament six years ago to go along with our junior program,” Briggs said. “Thus began the pro tennis classic.”
Youth and Tennis, Inc. is a junior program, headquartered at the Roy Wilkins Recreation Center in Jamaica. Proceeds of the classic go to the kids of this program.
“The program has been around for close to 30 years,” Briggs said. “We have kids from all over Queens and from ages 4 and over. However, most of our kids are from 8 to 18. We serve over 1,000 youths.
“The purpose of the program is to get the kids involved with tennis. It is also a developmental program to get them involved with the activities outside of tennis. Many former players from the PSAL are working with us.”
The deadline to register for the tournament is July 8. For further information call 658-6728.
