By ALEXANDRA CALDWELL
Article published on Wednesday, Feb. 18, 2009

CLEARWATER – The Sheriff Jim Coats fifth annual Clearwater Women’s Open kicks off Sunday, Feb. 22, drawing top professional tennis players to the area.

A few local players also will get the chance to play with the pros in the Curtis McGee Pro-Am on Monday, Feb. 23.

The tournament will be at Henry L. McMullen Tennis Complex, 1000 Edenville Ave., Clearwater, and the total prize money is set at $50,000. Proceeds will benefit the Boys and Girls Club of the Suncoast.

“The USTA Pro-Circuit is a stepping stone for athletes, both male and female, to move onto Grand Slam,” said Theresa Victory, tournament director. “A lot of our girls have played in the Australian Open, the U.S. Open. We have athletes coming from 32 countries, and I have a young lady currently ranked 76th in the world coming. If you’re not in the top 200 in the world, you’re not even playing in my .”

Athlete Yanina Wickmayer of Belgium is the player who is ranked 76th in the world. Others set to play in the tournament include Julie Coin of France who is ranked 79th in the world, and Melinda Czink of Hungary, who is ranked 83rd in the world.
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The tournament begins with the singles qualifying match starting Sunday, Feb. 22 through 23 and the Curtis McGee Pro-Am will take place Monday night. McGee is a professional athletic trainer from Clearwater who has trained professional athletes in basketball, football, track, tennis and other sports. He trained pro tennis player Anna Kournikova, and he said she is the one who got him to start playing tennis himself.

Registration for the Pro-Am begins at 5 p.m., the warm-up starts at 5:30 p.m., and the opening ceremony will be at 5:45 p.m., featuring local jazz artist, Eric Darius. The competition is set for 6 to 8 p.m. with a social hour from 8 to 9 p.m. featuring heavy appetizers, wine and beer, book signings by Kenneth Emery and Kathy Wood, a silent auction, music and an awards ceremony. Local R&B singer Tyesha Williams is also set to perform.

The Pro-Am will consist of mixed doubles pairs – local male amateurs paired with female pro athletes – and a modified set of rules to make the game more enjoyable and easier on the pros so they don’t get tired out for the next day’s competition, said McGee, director of the Pro-Am. Admission to the Feb. 22 and 23 events are free.

The singles and doubles main draw starts Tuesday, Feb. 24, and admission is a $5 donation or $25 for a week’s pass. The doubles and singles semi-finals are set for Saturday, Feb. 28, and the finals are Sunday, March 1. Admission is $10 for the semi-finals and finals. Tickets can be purchased at the Henry L. McMullen Tennis Complex beginning at 10 a.m. Tuesday, Feb. 24 or by contacting This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

This tournament is only one of nine tennis competitions in the country with a pot of $50,000, Victory said, and it is crucial for athletes to play such events to gain enough points to qualify for the Grand Slam. But the tournament also gives the community the opportunity to see professional athletes who have played in opens around the world.

“It’s Grand Slam candidates at their best,” Victory said. “. . . It also definitely has an economic impact because we have professional athletes and their coaches in the community staying in the hotels, they’re eating, they’re buying from local vendors, so it has a huge economic impact. The community is able to get out and enjoy some leisure services that they would not be able to usually see such a caliber of players, and it also helps the community.”

McGee also said the Clearwater Open and the Pro-Am are good for the community.

“It really does heighten the awareness for tennis and Clearwater. It will really put Clearwater on the map because they’re expanding their courts at the McMullen Tennis Complex which means we’ll be able to host larger tennis tournaments which will bring the top tennis players in the world down here,” McGee said. “The other thing, from a charity standpoint, is it’s for the Boys and Girls Club of the Suncoast, which is about 11,000 kids strong in the community, and it really helps support them tremendously.”

A few local, talented players also have the chance to compete in the event by qualifying to be a Wild Card Player. Danielle Collins, 15, of St. Petersburg won a wildcard tournament and won the chance to play in the main draw in the Clearwater Women’s Open. Several other girls who competed in the wildcard tournament won the chance to play in the qualification matches at the Open, including Alexandra Cercone, 17, of Seminole; Kara Kucin, 17, of Belleair; and Anastasia Kerchanko, 19, of Palm Coast.

Visit www.clearwateropen.com.
Article published on Wednesday, Feb. 18, 2009
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