SAVANNAH, April 11, 2018

The USTA announced that Denis Kudla of Arlington, VA will headline the competitors for the 2018 St. Joseph’s/Candler (SJ/C) Savannah Challenger, a $75,000 USTA Pro Circuit Challenger event hosted at The Landings Club April 30-May 6.

The tournament is the fourth USTA Pro Circuit men’s Challenger event of the 2018 season. It is the last of three consecutive Challenger tournaments held on clay courts to help develop players on the surface leading up to the 2018 French Open. There are nine USTA Pro Circuit men’s events (Futures and Challengers combined) currently scheduled to take place in the USTA Southern Section in 2018.

Currently No. 122, Kudla is the highest-ranked of the 22 men who received direct acceptance into the 32-player main draw. Thirty-two players will compete in the qualifying tournament April 28-30 for four other berths. The local tournament organizers and the USTA will also award wild card entries to complete the field.

Earlier this month, Kudla reached the finals of the an €85,000 ATP Challenger Tour event in Le Gosier, Guadeloupe where he was defeated by Dusan Lajovic and in March he claimed the singles title at the Challenger Banque Nationale de Drummondville. In May 2016, Kudla reached a career-high ranking of No. 53 in the world and he holds six ATP Challenger Tour singles titles overall.

2017 SJ/C Savannah Challenger doubles champion, Peter Polansky, and world No. 130, Donald Young, are also expected to compete. Young last played in Savannah in 2016 where he lost to eventual champion Bjorn Fratangelo in the semifinals. 2017 SJ/C Savannah Challenger semi-finalist Tommy Paul will also join fellow American #NextGenATP stars Michael Mmoh and Reilly Opelka in the main draw.

Admission to the SJ/C Savannah Challenger is $15 daily April 30-May 4 and $20 daily for the semifinals (May 5) and finals (May 6). A weekly pass is also available for $100. All tickets can be purchased at the entrance to the Franklin Creek Tennis Center on the day of the tournament. Please call the Franklin Creek Pro Shop at The Landings Club for more information at (912) 598-3500.

Main Draw List
122 Kudla, Denis (USA)
126 Polansky, Peter (CAN)
130 Young, Donald (USA)
143 Laaksonen, Henri (SUI)
144 Bellucci, Thomaz (BRA)
149 Mmoh, Michael (USA)
162 Paul, Tommy (USA)
166 Rola, Blaz (SLO)
170 Santillan, Akira (AUS)
187 Kecmanovic, Miomir (SRB)
192 King, Evan (USA)
201 Lopez Perez, Enrique (ESP)
207 Polmans, Marc (AUS)
209 Opelka, Reilly (USA)
215 Garin, Christian (CHI)
220 Krueger, Mitchell (USA)
221 Arnaboldi, Andrea (ITA)
227 Koepfer, Dominik (GER)
229 Dellien, Hugo (BOL)
230 Harrison, Christian (USA)
233 Clezar, Guilherme (BRA)
235 Clarke, Jay (GBR)