Enjoy a week at the park as the USTA Pro Circuit Tour makes a stop in Binghamton for the 23rd Annual Levene Gouldin & Thompson Tennis Challenger, July 16-24, 2016 at Recreation Park. Matches start at 10am the first half of the 9 day tournament, and at 11am from Thursday through the Finals.
The competition among US players for the US Open Wild Card Challenge kicks off here. The USTA will award one men’s singles main draw wild card to the 2016 US Open based on performance in a series of USTA Pro Circuit events. The American player with the highest total of cumulative singles main draw ATP ranking points from our tournament, The Kentucky Bank Tennis Championships (Lexington, KY), and Nordic Naturals Challenger (Aptos, CA) will win the wild card.
The feature match at 5:30pm often features the top-seeded, best prospects of the ATP Challenger Tour. Last year’s LGT Champion, Kyle Edmund, is currently ranked 84 in the world. The courts of Recreation Park have hosted future Wimbledon champions, Davis Cup team members, and Olympic Gold Medal winners. And invariably, the draw is filled with the hottest rising tennis stars of the year.
A wild card tournament June 10-12 awarded qualifying draw spots to the singles and doubles champions. Artem Khrapko (Corning, NY) defeated Mark Oljaca (Bradenton, FL) in the 32-player clay-court singles tournament at the Binghamton Tennis Center. Khrapko, a rising-junior at Davidson College, is a two-time Atlantic-10 all-conference selection and the Wildcats’ No. 2 singles player. He was also one half of the winning team for last year’s wild card into the Doubles Tournament. This year, locals Billy Mendler and Nick Zieziula defeated Jason Barton and Michael Perry to win their Doubles wild card. Zieziula currently serves as the head men’s tennis coach at Binghamton University.
On-court events not part of the Championships include:
- Fast Serve Contest
- Pro-Am Competition
- Dick’s 10 & Under Clinic
- Wilson/USTA Youth Tennis Clinic
…and Broome County Humane Society Gog-Adopt-A-Thon, USTA Member Appreciation Day, our VIP refreshers (Friday, Saturday, & Sunday), and the Discovery Center’s Pastabilities with a Taste of Tennis (Thursday).
A tournament pass to all 31 matches, plus the doubles tournament, is just $25. Available at the park.