Tennis Industry News

Atlanta, Ga., Charleston, S.C., and Richmond, Va., have been selected as the three finalists, as determined by nationwide voting, in the USTA’s second annual search to determine the winner of the “Best Tennis Town” contest. The ultimate winner of the “Best Tennis Town” search will be announced during the 2010 US Open (held Aug. 30-Sept. 12 in New York City).

In addition to the title, the winner will receive a $100,000 grant from the USTA to be used for community-wide tennis programming and facility enhancements. The second and third prize winners will receive $50,000 and $25,000, respectively, to be used towards the same purposes.

“The USTA is excited to see the passion and commitment to tennis that these towns have showcased through the ‘Best Tennis Town’ contest,” said Kurt Kamperman, Chief Executive, Community Tennis, USTA. “All three finalists are great ambassadors for the sport and would be a worthy recipient of the title of ‘Best Tennis Town.”

The search for the 2010 “Best Tennis Town” is the USTA’s second nationwide search to identify the local area—from small, rural towns to large, urban metro areas and everywhere in between—that best exemplifies the passion, excitement, spirit and impact that tennis brings to the local level. A total of 82 cities and towns from across the country submitted entries on www.besttennistown.com between April 7 and June 28, and a panel of judges whittled that down to 10 communities. Atlanta, Charleston and Richmond were chosen as the three finalists from among that group of ten through voting July 16 through July 26. Last year, the inaugural winner of the "Best Tennis Town" contest was Midland, Mich.