By Randy Walker
@TennisPublisher
The United States Tennis Association announced on December 12, 2023 that the USTA National Tennis Campus in Lake Nona, Florida will be the host venue for the USA vs. Belgium Billie Jean King Cup matches April 12-13.
The press release on the event formerly known as Fed Cup and Federation Cup did lack details as to what the specific surface the match will be played on (the USTA National Campus features hard, green clay and red clay) and where specifically on the campus will the match be played as there are multiple areas on the grounds for these surfaces. However, USTA representative Pat Mitsch did confirm via email that the match will be played on a hard court and will be played on the mini-hard court stadium on the campus that is located just to the west of the main building on the campus. The capacity will be approximately 1,500 with temporary bleachers being built around the court, according to Mitsch. .
It is significant in that it will be the biggest pro tennis event to be played on the campus and will mark the debut of U.S. tennis legend Lindsay Davenport as the U.S .captain.
The USTA National Campus hosts, seemingly, some sort of tournament every week, whether it be USTA Florida junior, adult or league matches, USTA national championships, college tennis matches featuring the University of Central Florida as the home team or special “College Match Day” matches or USTA Pro Circuit Futures or Challenger tournaments.
The specific mini-hard court stadium has previously hosted other special event pro matches, namely the Orlando World Team Tennis franchise the Orlando Storm in 2019 and also the PowerShares Series “senior” tennis event in 2018 won by Mardy Fish over James Blake in the final.
The Billie Jean King Cup matches will provide for added exposure to the USTA National Campus and will be held, we were told, at the same time the USTA will hold its Annual Meeting there, although we could not find via numerous google searches as to details of the 2024 USTA Annual Meeting. This would, theoretically, also provide a built-in enthusiastic audience of passionate USTA and tennis promoters made up of USTA national and sectional staff and volunteers from around the country.
The decision to host the matches at the USTA National Campus is also a fiscally responsible one as, with very little promotional lead team, these ties can be susceptible to being financial losers, but the USTA will obviously get the facility rent-free, will get all the vending profits and will not have to pay for most of the travel and lodging for many staff members.
The USTA press release is seen below…
| USTA National Campus in Orlando, Fla., to Host U.S. vs. Belgium Billie Jean King Cup Qualifying Event April 12-13 World Cup of Women’s Tennis Comes to Orlando for the First Time as Top American and Belgian Players Compete for 2024 Finals Qualification ORLANDO, Fla., December 12, 2023 – The USTA today announced that the USTA National Campus in Orlando, Fla., will host the U.S. vs. Belgium Billie Jean King Cup by Gainbridge Qualifying competition April 12-13, 2024, a best-of-five match series with the top pro women’s players from the U.S. and Belgium competing to advance to the 2024 Billie Jean King Cup Finals. Billie Jean King Cup is the ‘World Cup of Tennis,’ with more than 100 nations competing every year in women’s tennis’ premier national team competition. This is the highest level of professional tennis to be hosted at the USTA National Campus and the first time Orlando has hosted a Billie Jean King Cup event. The Qualifying event is one of eight being held around the world in April, with the winners of each advancing to the Finals next November in Seville, Spain, to compete for the title. The United States leads all nations in all-time titles, with 18. The Qualifier is a best-of-five match series that begins Friday, April 12, at 6 p.m., with two singles matches featuring each country’s top two singles players. Two reverse singles matches and a doubles match will follow on Saturday, April 13, at 2 p.m., with an amended Saturday schedule possible if one nation clinches victory in the third or fourth singles match. The Qualifying event will mark the first for Tennis Hall of Famer Lindsay Davenport as team captain, and she’ll nominate a team of five players to compete against the Belgians. The U.S. currently has eight players ranked in the singles Top 50, and both reigning US Open champion and world No. 3 Coco Gauff and world No. 5 Jessica Pegula played in last year’s Qualifying, held in Delray Beach. The final team nominations will be made in March. “Bringing the ‘World Cup of Tennis’ to Orlando and the USTA National Campus for the first time is an incredible opportunity,” said Lew Sherr, CEO and Executive Director, USTA. “Our goal is to deliver an unforgettable and inspiring experience for both the players and the fans, as the uniqueness and excitement of this competition set at our world-class facility makes for an unprecedented platform to elevate and grow the game.” Ticketing information will be announced at a later date. Local sponsorship opportunities are available, and interested parties should contact the USTA’s Megan Rose (megan.rose@usta.com). Wilson is the official ball of the U.S. Billie Jean King Cup team. # # # The USTA is the national governing body for the sport of tennis in the U.S. and the leader in promoting and developing the growth of tennis at every level — from local communities to the highest level of the professional game. A not-for-profit organization, it invests 100% of its proceeds in growing the game. It owns and operates the US Open, one of the highest-attended annual sporting events in the world, and launched the US Open Series, linking summer WTA and ATP Tour tournaments to the US Open. In addition, it owns approximately 120 Pro Circuit events throughout the U.S. and selects the teams for the Davis Cup, Billie Jean King Cup, Olympic and Paralympic Games. The USTA’s philanthropic entity, the USTA Foundation, provides grants and scholarships in addition to supporting tennis and education programs nationwide to benefit under-resourced youth through the National Junior Tennis & Learning (NJTL) network. For more information about the USTA, go to USTA.com or follow the official accounts on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter (X) and TikTok. |
