Pro tennis stars to be featured at Lipscomb
Mark McGee |
NASHVILLE, Tenn. – The spotlight will be on tennis in February at Lipscomb University’s Allen Arena as members of the U.S. Olympic and Davis Cup teams are scheduled to perform.
The Nashville Tennis Classic will feature Mike and Bob Bryan, billed as the “world’s greatest doubles team”. John Isner, the No.1-ranked American singles player, and Sam Querrey, an ATP Tour star, are also headlining the event.
The event will begin at 3 p.m. Feb. 6. A special tennis court will be installed in Allen Arena. Proceeds from the event will benefit the Nashville chapter of Gilda’s Club.
Isner and Querrey will play a singles match. They will then team against the Bryan brothers for a doubles match.
“USTA Tennessee is thrilled to support the Nashville Tennis Classic and honored to host members of the U.S. Davis Cup Team in our city,” Tracy Davies, Executive Director of USTA Tennessee, said. “Nashville is a vibrant tennis community and bringing role models of this caliber to Tennessee will have a tremendous impact on the future growth of our sport.”
It will be a busy weekend of tennis for Lipscomb. The Lady Bisons play host to Western Kentucky Feb. 5 and then will face Alabama-Huntsville Feb. 7. Both matches will begin at 7 p.m. at the Whitworth Indoor Tennis Facility.
Lipscomb women’s coach Jamie Aid is looking forward to the Nashville Tennis Classic and what it can mean in terms of promoting tennis on many levels.
“We have a wonderful night in store that will showcase the highest level of tennis,” Aid said. “What a great way to share tennis, here at Lipscomb, with the Nashville community.
“We have several of the world’s greatest players in Nashville on Feb. 6th. These four men are members of the Davis Cup Team as well as the U.S. Olympic Team. To put this in perspective it would be equal to having members of the Ryder Cup for golf or members of the U.S. basketball team on campus. This is a unique opportunity for us.”
The Bisons tennis team will be out of town and will miss the event.
“Our women's and men's teams are obviously excited to have such players on campus, some of whom they have grown up watching,” Aid said. “This should be an exciting night, I have no doubt the Lipscomb Racquet Club will be a great host.”
Professional tennis events of this magnitude are rare in Nashville. Lipscomb men’s tennis coach Mario Hernandez agrees with Aid that the Nashville Tennis Classic will elevate interest in the sport locally.
"We are so excited to have professional tennis in Nashville, but more importantly at Lipscomb University,” Hernandez said. “For our team, any time you're able to see professionals live, there is always so much that you can learn.
“For the school and for the people in Nashville, this is great for them and for tennis. I always tell people that watching professional tennis on TV is entertaining but it doesn't do the sport justice. You need to see the pros play live to truly understand how good these guys are. Fortunately, we are all going to get that opportunity here at Lipscomb University."
To purchase tickets call (615) 966-7075. Ticket prices are $35 for reserved seating and $55 for courtside reserved seating.