MIAMI, April 15 The weather in South Florida could not be better for The 2025 US Amateur, held at Palm Beach’s oceanfront court for the seventh consecutive year. The matches have been quite well attended by a wide cross section of people, as has been the case since the ‘15 finals in Orlando. The Chicago Athletic Club’s Caroline Lippincott is the expected champion, however Los Angeles’ Downtown Court’s powerhouse Robert McManus can’t be under-rated. Dallas and Moscow have each sent three strong contenders. A last minute addition, Gus Eletherio, who hails from America’s busiest court, built below Atlanta’s largest subway station, has never lost a match since a junior clinic was held at the old Tuxedo Club twenty years ago. Who will win the coveted Zug
Cup has never been so up in the air.
Could this be from a future pop-up on AOL’s Home Page, and if so, how did we at the USCTA and the USCTPF manage such growth? The real-estate aspect of building new courts will certainly be a challenge, but without new and young players starting NOW there will be no one to participate in future tournaments in unthought of places.
In Tuxedo Park we hosted the second annual US Junior Handicap over the weekend of December 2nd. More than twenty children from Tuxedo, New York, Newport and Philadelphia participated, which kept the court busy all day on both Saturday and Sunday. As was the case last year, there was no charge for the weekend for either the players or their chaperones, thanks to the generous support of the USCTA, the USCTPF and The Tuxedo Club.
Front row, left to right: Caroline Lippincott, Laurenson Ward, Clement Hathaway, Jack Young, John Chamberlain, William Pryor. Middle row, left to right: Organizer Peter Ashby-Howard, Nick Auerbach (partially hidden), Dylan Ward, Gus Eletherio, Paul Monaghan, James Chamberlain. Back row, left to right: Organizer Barbara Gebhart, Will Standish, Robert McManus, Andrew Emil, Alex Rodzianko, Vica White, Tuxedo Winter Sports Chairman Walter Deane.
A Friday kick-off dinner was held in the Greevy Room, hosted by Mr. and. Mrs. PA Howard. All of the attendees made it in time for the 7PM service, with several hitting the court before, during and after the meal. You can’t lose serving spaghetti to this crowd. All of the participants and their chaperones were billeted in Tuxedo Park homes.
Saturday morning began with a nine AM clinic, which further encouraged novices to participate. Nine year old Clement Hathaway of New York, whose father Tyler fought blizzard-like conditions in a one and a half hour Saturday morning drive, tied for the youngest participant prize with chatty Johnny Chamberlin of Newport. Gracious eighteen year old Vica White, also of Newport, was the senior player.
The Handicap Dinner was served in the club’s Golf House, which many of the children enjoyed seeing. Toasts were made and thousands of French Fries were consumed. Several parents were noticeably frustrated that with the combination of darkness, cold and snow they were kept off of the links. A rowdy group of platform tennis players could be seen in the distance.
Two draws were created for the US Junior Handicap, a championship division and a “Gold” group, which was generally for the younger children. Several of the participants were best qualified for the clinics and Ken Jacob’s court tennis football. Every child was awarded a pewter revere bowl and a hat, with both USCTA and Tuxedo Club trophies also given to the winners and runners-up of both divisions.
The level of play was quite high, with almost all of the matches close due to Head Professional Tom Greevy’s master handicapping. In the championship flight’s finals, well mannered David Emil, who grew at least a foot since his last year’s visit to Tuxedo, was defeated by Home Court Advantage and Future USCTA Star Alexander Rodzianko. Alex gave a wonderful speech during the prize presentation asking that Junior Court Tennis continue to be supported by the USCTA and the various clubs. In the “Gold” division, Philadelphia’s Pride Paul Monaghan was narrowly defeated by Jack Young, of the famous Tuxedo Park family which is known for talent in every sport.
Without exception, all of the children were well behaved throughout the entire weekend. At one point, when all were told not to drink or smoke while in Tuxedo, the universal reaction was bug-eyed bafflement, as that was not on the minds of the USCTA’s next generation. What they all wanted was to be on court all the time. Future planners might consider having them sleep in the Tennis House, so they can be as close as possible to the action. It is hoped that other venues will be used to run this tournament next year, as every club is needed in the efforts to develop THE GAME for our next generation.
