Tennis Briefs(3): Grants, 2016 ATP Delray Open News

17 Community Tennis Orgs. Receive More Than $17K in Grants from USTA Florida Foundation

Kids and volunteers at the Mardy Fish Foundation in Vero Beach, one of the October USTA Florida Foundation grant recipients

Seventeen community tennis organizations received community tennis grants totaling more than $17,000 in the month of October from the USTA Florida Foundation, the charitable arm of the United States Tennis Association-Florida Section (USTA Florida).

Recipients of grants were organizations in Boca Raton, Coral Springs, Deltona, Ft. Lauderdale, Gainesville, Jacksonville, Lehigh Acres, Miami, Miami Beach, New Smyrna Beach, Orlando, Palm Beach Gardens, Pensacola, Vero Beach, Wellington, and Winter Springs.

USTA Florida Foundation grants offer funding for youth tennis programs, adaptive tennis programs for those with special needs, community tennis programs in economically challenged areas, along with facility assistance in the renovation, refurbishment and building of quality public tennis facilities.

Since 2010, USTA Florida and the USTA Florida Foundation have awarded more than $1,000,000 in grants for tennis programs serving people of all ages and abilities throughout Florida.

USTA Florida Foundation grants in October:

Boca Raton — Velasco Tennis Training
Grant: Equipment grant for USTA 10 and Under Tennis age-appropriate racquets, balls, nets, court-sizes, etc., to provide tennis for at-risk youth in the community.

Coral Springs — Special Olympics Florida-Broward County
Grant: Equipment grant for USTA 10 and Under Tennis age-appropriate racquets, balls, nets, court-sizes, etc., to be used for training Special Olympics athletes in Lee County.

Deltona — Deltona Lakes Elementary Physical Education Dept.
Grant: Equipment grant for USTA 10 and Under Tennis age-appropriate racquets, balls, nets, court-sizes, etc. to introduce tennis to students in PE classes.

Ft. Lauderdale — Boys and Girls Clubs of Broward County
Grant: Equipment grant for USTA 10 and Under Tennis age-appropriate racquets, balls, nets, court-sizes, etc. for after-school tennis program involving at-risk children in Broward County.

Ft. Lauderdale — City of Fort Lauderdale
Grant: Equipment grant for USTA 10 and Under Tennis age-appropriate racquets, balls, nets, court-sizes, etc. for junior programs, the wheelchair program, and to develop a Masters Tennis program (adult short-court tennis).

Gainesville — Mini Performance Tennis
Grant: Equipment grant for USTA 10 and Under Tennis age-appropriate racquets, balls, nets, court-sizes, etc. for teaching 10 and Under Tennis to children in the community.

Jacksonville — Arlington Youth Tennis Association
Grant: Equipment grant for USTA 10 and Under Tennis age-appropriate racquets, balls, nets, court-sizes, etc., to jumpstart the 10 and Under Tennis program.

Lehigh Acres — Special Olympics Florida-Lee County
Grant: Equipment grant for USTA 10 and Under Tennis age-appropriate racquets, balls, nets, court-sizes, etc., to be used for training Special Olympics athletes in Lee County.

Miami Beach — Nautilus Middle School
Grant: Equipment grant for USTA 10 and Under Tennis age-appropriate racquets, balls, nets, court-sizes, etc. to introduce tennis to students in PE classes.

Miami — Luis Hines Tennis Foundation
Grant: Equipment grant for USTA 10 and Under Tennis age-appropriate racquets, balls, nets, court-sizes, etc., to introduce tennis to the children and adults of the Richmond Height Community.

New Smyrna Beach — Samsula Academy
Grant: Equipment grant for USTA 10 and Under Tennis age-appropriate racquets, balls, nets, court-sizes, etc., to introduce students to tennis as part of the school’s Extended Day Program.

Orlando — Special Olympics Florida-Polk County
Grant: Equipment grant for USTA 10 and Under Tennis age-appropriate racquets, balls, nets, court-sizes, etc., to be used for training Special Olympics athletes in Polk County.

Palm Beach Gardens — ACEing Autism
Grant: Funding for equipment and instruction for the ACEing Autism tennis program.

Pensacola — Escambia High School
Grant: Equipment for the boys and girls tennis teams.

Vero Beach — Mardy Fish Children’s Foundation
Grant: Equipment grant for USTA 10 and Under Tennis age-appropriate racquets, balls, nets, court-sizes, etc., for the Kids On Court program.

Wellington — Western Communities Tennis Association
Grant: Equipment grant for a Masters Tennis program (short-court adult tennis), and for introducing tennis to children in the local Boys and Girls Club and the Foster Care program using the age-appropriate USTA 10 and Under Tennis equipment.

Winter Springs — Lake Mary Tennis Center
Grant: Equipment grant for USTA 10 and Under Tennis age-appropriate racquets, balls, nets, court-sizes, etc., for the center’s 10 and Under tennis program.

The USTA Florida Foundation’s mission is “Changing Lives Through Tennis,” providing financial support through organizational grants that help Floridians of all ages and abilities improve their health and quality of life through the game of tennis. It is the USTA Florida Foundation’s belief that tennis provides opportunities for healthy social, emotional, physical and educational development, and encourages peer and family participation.

For more information on individual grants or for more information on the USTA Florida Foundation go to www.ustafloridafoundation.com.

Former World No. 2 Haas, Dimitrov Added to 2016 ATP Delray Beach Field

Tommy Haas

ATP World Tour star Grigor Dimitrov has joined the 32-player field for the 2016 Delray Beach Open, while former world No. 2 and 2006 champion Tommy Haas is another addition to what is rounding into a sterling field.

The tournament previously announced that world No. 9 Milos Raonic of Canada and the longtime top-ranked Bryan brothers, Bob and Mike, have committed to play in Delray Beach’s ATP World tour event next February. In its 18th year in the city and 24th overall, the Delray Beach Open will be played Feb. 12-21, 2016 at the Delray Beach Stadium & Tennis Center.

Dimitrov, 24, reached a No. 8 world ranking in 2014 thanks to a pair of semifinal finishes in Rome and Toronto, and a win over world No. 4 Andy Murray that propelled him to the Wimbledon semifinal. The 37-year-old Haas has returned to the Top 20 from major surgery three times in his career, and is embarking on a fourth run after shoulder surgery last year.

“We are thrilled to continue adding top talent to our 2016 field,” said Tournament Director Mark Baron. “Grigor is an exciting young player who we have wanted to have in Delray Beach for some time. And having a healthy Tommy competing again will be a treat for our fans.”

The 10-day Delray Beach Open also includes an ATP Champions Tour event, which brings legends of the game into town to play during the opening weekend.

A number of tournament seating packages are on sale, including the Reserved Diamond Series that includes tickets to all 17 sessions of the ATP Champions Tour and ATP World Tour events (Friday, Feb. 12-Sunday, Feb. 21, 2016) for $500. Reserved seats (sections A-O) are located just behind the box seats and have back support and arm rests. The popular Weekender Series that includes a reserved seat for the quarterfinals, semifinals and finals (sessions 13-17) is $200.

For more info go to www.yellowtennisball.com.

Players Can Qualify for ATP Delray Through the Survivor Series

Entries close on Nov. 18 for the ATP Delray Survivor Series pre-qualifying tournament, where any tennis player can enter for a chance to qualify to the ATP World Tour Delray Beach Open event for 2016.

The event will be held on Nov. 21-23, 2015 at Delray Beach’s Gleneagles Country Club on clay courts.

The Survivor Series winner receives a wildcard into the 16-player singles qualifying tournament of the 2016 Delray Beach Open, where the top four finishers move on to the main draw of the $540,000 ATP World Tour event.

All Survivor Series participants receive two complimentary tickets to Opening Day (Session 2: Feb. 13) of the 2016 Delray Beach Open ATP Champions Tour matches (Tennis Legends). In addition, participants may receive a 20 percent off discount on individual tickets to their session of choice to the 2016 Delray Beach Open (much be purchased by Dec. 31, 2015).

The event also includes a consolation round for players not winning their first-round matches.

For more information go to http://tennislink.usta.com/Tournaments/TournamentHome/Tournament.aspx?T=157551.