Greco and Doerner dominate POP tournament
FLUSHING, NY - The New York Open POP Tennis Tournament, hosted by International POP Tennis Association and sponsored by Adidas and TuffTec Lockers, took place from July 29 - 30, at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center, the home of the US Open Tennis Championships.
Former WNBA champion Michelle Greco swept all three divisions in which she participated, capturing the Women’s Singles, Women’s Doubles and Mixed Doubles Championships. POP Tennis star Austin Doerner won the Men’s Singles, defeating his brother, Scott Doerner, in the finals and then partnering with Scott to capture their 12th consecutive Men’s Doubles Championships.
Notably, athletes from several other racquet sports participated, including Beach Tennis national champions Nadia Johnson and Nicole Melch, and Platform Tennis national champions Mark Parsons and Stephen DeRose. Both teams qualified to the finals of their respective divisions, as well as a group of former collegiate tennis athletes that were very successful in the later rounds.
Champions and finalists in the 2017 POP Tennis Pro divisions include:
- Women’s Singles: Champion Michelle Greco; Finalist Michaela Kratochvilova
- Women’s Doubles: Champions Michelle Greco and Viviana Rojas de Heil; Finalists Nicole Melch and Nadia Johnston
- Mixed Doubles: Champions Michelle Greco and Russ Garber; Finalists Dana and Mark Parsons
- Men’s Singles: Champion Austin Doerner; Finalist Scott Doerner
- Men’s Doubles: Champions Scott and Austin Doerner; Finalists Stephen DeRose and Mark Parsons
“The tournament attracted a diverse group of players from various racquet sports backgrounds. Players of all levels quickly adapted to POP Tennis, and the shorter formats enabled everyone to play multiple matches in a short amount of time,” said the New York Open tournament director, Whitney Kraft, the Director of the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center.
“In addition to the professional level competition, it was so gratifying to see such diversity of first time players, family pairings of parents and children, and adults of all ages. I’ve witnessed a large number of tennis tournaments in my life, and I can safely say that I’ve never seen so many smiles after matches, win or lose,” said Jerry Pham, President of the International POP Tennis Association.
The third tournament in the 2017 POP Tennis Tournament Series takes place in Venice Beach, CA, on October 7-8.
POP Tennis is in growth mode and looking for facilities, instructors and ambassadors interested in joining Team POP! to onboard POP Tennis programs and host tournaments in their respective areas. To find out more about joining Team POP!, please visit poptennis.com or email: info@poptennis.com.
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