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Local Clubs to Compete for Top Honors at Family Circle Tennis Center
The Family Circle Tennis Center announces the return of a doubles tennis tournament scheduled during this year’s Family Circle Cup, with matches being played on-site during this Sony Ericsson WTA Tour Premier Event. The second annual Doubles Club Championships presented by Dunlop Sport will span the entire week of Main Draw competition, Monday, April 12 - Saturday, April 17, and feature the best men’s and women’s 3.5 and 4.0 doubles teams from sixteen Charleston-area tennis clubs. The winners of this tournament will be announced in Family Circle Stadium prior to the Family Circle Cup singles final on Sunday, April 20th. The Family Circle Cup will be held April 10-18, 2010 at the Family Circle Tennis Center in Charleston, South Carolina.
“We created this tournament as an opportunity for local tennis players to compete during the same week as the professionals entered in the Family Circle Cup,” commented Rob Eppelsheimer, Director of Facilities and Tennis Development at the Family Circle Tennis Center. “This event will also establish bragging rights for the top club in Charleston.”
The Doubles Club Championships presented by Dunlop Sport will offer a compass draw format, featuring sixteen teams from prominent tennis clubs in the Charleston area. Each club’s team will compete on a combination of hard and clay courts, and each team will consist of eight players; (2) 3.5 women, (2) 3.5 men, (2) 4.0 women, and (2) 4.0 men. The compass draws will be revealed at a special Draw Party on Wednesday, April 7th, and round-robin play will commence on Monday, April 12th and continue through Thursday, April 15th. All matches scheduled to begin at 5:00pm, occurring between the day and night sessions of the Family Circle Cup. Semifinal matches will be held at 5:00pm on Friday, April 16th. The women’s 3.5 and 4.0 finals, and the men’s 3.5 final, will begin at 9:00am on the morning of Saturday, April 17th. The men’s 4.0 final match will be held at 6:00pm on Saturday night, April 17th, on Althea Gibson Club Court, and feature celebrity emcee Murphy Jensen who will entertain the crowd with humor and match commentary.
The Doubles Club Championships presented by Dunlop Sport winning team will receive prizes including Dunlop Sport tennis racquets and sport bags, and they will also be recognized in Family Circle Magazine Stadium prior to the singles final on Sunday, April 18th.
The Doubles Club Championships presented by Dunlop Sport entry fee is $400 per team, which provides each tournament participant with a Family Circle Cup T-shirt, official tournament program, Family Circle Cup Grounds Pass for all Day Sessions spanning Monday, April 12th through Thursday, April 15th, and a pair of tickets to the Friday, April 16th night session.
Family Circle Cup tickets are required for spectators to enter the facility. Only patrons who hold Cup tickets for both the day and night sessions will be granted access to watch the Doubles Club Championship presented by Dunlop Sport matches each day.
Already part of several national initiatives aimed at growing the sport of tennis, the Family Circle Tennis Center is dedicated to promoting the game on a local level as well – and that was the intent when creating this tournament.
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