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Americans set records on USTA Pro Circuit

WHITE PLAINS, N.Y. - The 2013 season of the USTA Pro Circuit concluded with record-setting results among American players. The 34th season of the USTA Pro Circuit, the largest developmental tennis circuit in the world, featured 89 events and awarded nearly $3 million in total prize money.

This year included a record 35 tournaments held on clay. In conjunction with USTA Player Development, the USTA Pro Circuit continues to emphasize the importance of increased training and competition for younger players on clay, particularly at the $10,000/$25,000 level for women and $10,000/$15,000 level for men.

Live streaming debuted this year for all 16 USTA Pro Circuit men’s Challengers (prize money of $50,000 and higher) at procircuit.usta.com. Ten of the 13 women’s tournaments with prize money of $50,000 or more were streamed live in 2013.

USTA Player Development awarded wild cards into the French Open and US Open based on players’ results on the USTA Pro Circuit. Alex Kuznetsov and Shelby Rogers earned main draw wild cards into the 2013 French Open by winning the Har-Tru USTA Pro Circuit Wild Card Challenge in the spring. The wild card challenge, sponsored for the first time by Har-Tru, was determined by the American man and woman who amassed the greatest number of ATP and WTA ranking points at two of three USTA Pro Circuit clay-court events. Rogers and Bradley Klahn earned main draw wild cards into the 2013 US Open based on their results in three hard-court men’s and women’s tournaments this summer.

Tennis Channel will air a year-end USTA Pro Circuit recap show by the end of the year. Date and time are to be determined.

Notable records and storylines of 2013 included:

• Bobby Reynolds replaced Paul Goldstein as the “Crash Davis of American tennis” and now holds the record for career singles and doubles titles on the USTA Pro Circuit. Reynolds captured his 31st USTA Pro Circuit title by winning the doubles title at the $50,000 Challenger in Napa, Calif., in September. Reynolds won his first USTA Pro Circuit title in 2002 by winning the doubles title at the $15,000 Futures in Decatur, Ill.

• Michael Russell became the oldest USTA Pro Circuit singles champion at 35 years, 6 months, and 2 days after winning the singles title at the $75,000 Challenger in Charlottesville, Va., in November 2013. Russell surpassed Ronald Agenor, who was just one day younger than Russell when he won the $50,000 Challenger in Birmingham, Ala., in 2000. Russell won his 24th career USTA Pro Circuit singles title this year in Charlottesville, remaining first all-time in USTA Pro Circuit singles titles.

• Former Stanford standout and 2010 NCAA champion Bradley Klahn was the 2013 USTA Pro Circuit Prize Money Leader with $50,606 in earnings, reaching five USTA Pro Circuit singles finals and winning two singles titles. Four of the top five men’s prize money leaders in 2013 were Americans.

• Shelby Rogers was the 2013 USTA Pro Circuit Prize Money Leader with $36,308 in earnings, winning three singles titles with prize money of $50,000 or more. Four of the top 10 women’s prize money leaders in 2013 were Americans.

• The U.S. men won more than half of the USTA Pro Circuit singles titles this year with 29. The U.S. women won the most singles titles of any country with 19.

• Tornado Alicia Black was the youngest women’s singles champion of 2013 at 15 years, 4 months, and 17 days after winning the $10,000 USTA Pro Circuit event in Amelia Island, Fla., in September following her run to the junior US Open final. Black is the youngest USTA Pro Circuit singles champion since Madison Keys in 2010.

Posted on December 16, 2013
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