Most notably in March, the USTA Pro Circuit returns to the courts in Lake Nona with a $15,000 women’s event. This will be the second USTA Pro Circuit event held at the USTA National Campus, as a $25,000 women’s event was held in January.
The USTA Pro Circuit, the largest developmental tennis circuit in the world, is the pathway to the US Open and tour-level competition for aspiring tennis players, and also frequently serves as a battleground for established professionals. The USTA Pro Circuit is comprised of approximately 90 tournaments hosted annually throughout the country, with prize money ranging from $15,000 to $125,000. This $15,000 event will play host to a number of young, up-and-coming American players, including top juniors players who are beginning to gain experience at the professional level. Included in the draw will be a number of players who regularly train with USTA Player Development at the USTA National Campus.
Much like the event in January, March’s event will feature a weekend of family fun as a number of community events will surround the final days of completion. On Saturday, March 10, a Net Generation Kids’ Day will be held prior to the start of the singles semifinals and will feature a free kids clinic led by USTA National Campus teaching professionals. The matches will feature live music as competitors vie for a spot in Sunday’s final. The doubles final will follow the pair of singles finals.
Prior to the singles final on Sunday, March 11, there will be a Net Generation Team Challenge, another free opportunity for local youth to pick up a racket prior to a champion being crowned.
College tennis also continues its strong showing at the National Campus as the UCF men’s and women’s programs hit the heart of their 2018 schedules. The men, coming off their first-ever at-large NCAA tournament appearance in 2017, play nine home matches in March. They kick off the month with a College MatchDay showdown against a nationally-ranked Michigan program on March 3. The match will be broadcast live on Tennis Channel and also will feature a number of free community activities.
Other notable matches include a matchup with the defending national champion Virginia Cavaliers on March 11, a rematch of last year’s College MatchDay thriller against Penn State on March 7, and a faceoff with in-state foe Miami on March 18.
The women’s program, which already owns two Top-25 wins this season, also has nine home matches in the month of March. They will be playing alongside the men on March 3, also taking on a nationally-ranked Michigan women’s team. Also on tap for the UCF women are conference matches against East Carolina on March 4 and Memphis on March 10.
Lake Nona also will play host to a number of neutral-site matches throughout March as part of the USTA National Campus Collegiate Series. Nationally-ranked men’s programs, including Duke, TCU, Oklahoma, and Florida State, which will take on rival Miami alongside the two women’s programs, as well as Duke’s Top 10 women’s program, will all play matches at the USTA National Campus during the month.
Finally, “Spring Break Tennis,” a program that arranges for colleges and universities from around the country to play matches in Orlando, will bring hundreds of collegiate matches to the USTA National Campus. Colleges and universities from Division I, II, III and the NAIA will travel to Central Florida throughout the month to compete.
Last year, the National Campus hosted more than 300 total colleges and universities, with that number expected to grow this year.