TEMPLETON, April 19, 2023 (by Steve Pratt)
The numbers don’t lie. ITF World Tennis Tour/USTA Pro Circuit events like the upcoming EPIC Central Coast Tennis Classic women’s $60,000 tournament taking place Sept. 25-Oct. 1 at the Templeton Tennis Ranch are home to the Grand Slam players of tomorrow, with nearly all of the WTA’s top players getting their start at this level.
Players like the world’s No. 1 doubles player Jessica Pegula from Buffalo, N.Y., and recent US Open doubles winner Erin Routliffe from New Zealand. Currently top 5 in the world in singles, Pegula played in Templeton in 2018. She fell in this year’s US Open mixed doubles finals. Two-time NCAA doubles champion Erin Routliffe played the inaugural EPIC Central Coast Tennis Classic in 2017. Two weeks ago in New York, Routliffe teamed with Gabby Dabrowski to win the biggest title of her career – a Grand Slam Doubles Championship.
Of the 147 players who have taken part in the EPIC Central Coast Tennis Classic since 2017, a staggering 48 of them took part in this year’s US Open in women’s singles qualifying, main draw singles, doubles or mixed doubles.
Nearly two-thirds of the players coming to Templeton next week to try to earn valuable WTA points and continue their climb up the world rankings ladder come fresh off the courts at the US Open — the largest tennis tournament in the world.
Last year’s EPIC Central Coast Tennis Classic singles winner Madison Brengle and finalist Robin Montgomery, both are among this year’s top entries who also played in the US Open, as are other 2023 entrants including American’s Sophie Chang, Caroline Dolehide, Taylor Townsend, Katie Volynets, Ann Li and Hailey Baptiste.
Qualifying action begins on Monday, September 25th and includes some familiar names to EPIC Central Coast Tennis Classic fans including the tournament’s first singles champion Sachia Vickery and 2018 singles and doubles champion Asia Muhammad.
Visit the tournament’s website www.centralcoasttennisclassic.com to purchase tickets and see scheduling details.
