Pro tennis event returning to Berks County in August
Jul. 4—Pro tennis is returning to Berks County for the third straight year as the Ellesse Pro Tennis Challenge will be held Aug. 19-20 at the Emkey Tennis Garden in Wyomissing.
Tournament director Ryan Knarr has been in Europe since June 22, first at Wimbledon and this week on the tournament staff at the Salzburg Open in Austria, working to recruit players for the event.
"Our objective is to continue to bring world-class tennis to Berks County and bring some of the very best in the world to share in the magic and power of tennis that the game has globally," Knarr said in an email.
This year, the Berks County Tennis Association, which underwrites the event, will be focusing on the tournament's philanthropic component to give back to underprivileged youth tennis players in Reading. A specific amount of proceeds given by sponsorships and donors will go to that cause.
"I've been collaborating with players, agents and player representatives in Wimbledon and Salzburg to develop a world-class player list for the Ellesse Pro Tennis Challenge," said Knarr, who is also the president of the BCTA and the boys and girls tennis coach at Conrad Weiser. "We hope to deliver some of the headline players in the next few weeks."
Six world-ranked players, down from eight, will be in the field for the event, which has Ellesse as the title sponsor for the first time.
The tournament also will have two-out-of-three set scoring (regular scoring) this year as opposed to Fast 4 used the first two years.
Complete information, including on player announcements and ticket sales, will be announced in the coming weeks, Knarr said.
In addition to his work for the Ellesse Pro Tennis Challenge, Knarr also has been having meetings regarding the Madison Keys Court of Dreams Celebration of Tennis event at Charles City, Iowa, which will be held July 14-15 and for which he is also event director.
Emma Perkins, a rising junior at Conrad Weiser, will be one of two junior players participating in the Madison Keys event.
Keys, the 2017 U.S. Open runner-up, and Caty McNally, a doubles finalist at last year's U.S. Open, will be the two WTA players at the event. The two male pro players at the event will be KP Pannu and Nathan Healy.
The event will benefit the All Iowa Lawn Tennis Club Foundation and Kindness Wins, which is Keys' charity.
A junior clinic and mental health panel will take place on July 14 at Clear Lake, Iowa. The tennis exhibition will be held at the Court of Dreams on July 15 at 1 p.m.
