VERO BEACH, November 20, 2018 (Press Release)
The Boulevard Tennis Club, the fastest-growing tennis club in Vero Beach, will host the 2019 Mardy Fish Children’s Foundation Tennis Championships, Vero Beach’s long-running U.S. Tennis Association (USTA) Pro Circuit professional tennis tournament April 29 – May 5, 2019.
An official contract was signed last week between representatives of the Mardy Fish Children’s Foundation and The Boulevard Tennis Club to host the popular tournament featuring up-and-coming world-ranked touring tennis professionals from around the world. The Boulevard Tennis Club previously hosted the event for seven years from 2010 to 2016. The tournament benefits the Mardy Fish Children’s Foundation, the non-profit foundation benefiting children named for Vero Beach native son Mardy Fish, a former top 10 tennis star, U.S. Davis Cup hero and silver medalist at the 2004 Olympic Games.
“The Boulevard Tennis Club has turned into the epicenter of tennis in Vero Beach over the last few years and we are excited to once again stage our event there next spring,” said Tom Fish, President of the Mardy Fish Children’s Foundation. “Our event is our top fundraising mechanism for the Mardy Fish Children’s Foundation and our goal is to raise as much money as possible to benefit youth in Indian River County while continuing to run a first-class event and further promote tennis in our Treasure Coast community.”
“We are so happy to once again host the Mardy Fish Children’s Foundation Tennis Championships,” said Christophe Delavaut, the Tennis Director and co-owner of The Boulevard Tennis Club. “Under our club’s new ownership group, we are thrilled to open up our doors to the community for the most prestigious and longest-running professional sports event in Vero Beach.”
The Mardy Fish Children’s Foundation will be elevated to a $25,000 tournament in 2019, up from a $15,000 event in 2018, ensuring higher-quality ranked players competing in the event than in years past. A 24-player qualifying tournament will start Monday, April 29 with main-draw play starting Tuesday, April 30 concluding with the singles final on Sunday, May 5. A special pre-qualifying tournament open to all entrants will be played at The Boulevard starting Wednesday, April 24 with the winner earning a place in the 24-player qualifying tournament. The 2019 tournament is part of the newly restructured and rebranded ITF World Tennis Tour.