Category Archives: News

The latest from Rec Park

Returning in 2022

Mens Professional Tennis Challenger

The LG&T Tennis Challenger will return in July 2022

kids winning a prize at the free for all

“We’ve made the difficult but necessary decision to cancel the 2021 Levene Gouldin & Thompson Tennis Challenger. The required COVID-19 protocols for players, umpires, staff, and volunteers are simply too great a burden for the size of the tournament we host in Binghamton. Working with the USTA, we’ve come to an agreement to host the tournament here again in July 2022.
A driving force for this tournament is to showcase our community and attract tennis fans from all over to visit, dine, and lodge in the City of Binghamton. Current restrictions would allow only a fraction of normal attendees –if any– to matches or community events. Without those tickets sales and sponsorships that help support the tournament, it’s not financially feasible to move forward.
We’re tankful to our partners at the City of Binghamton, Mayor David and the Parks Department for making critical investments to the Recreation Park tennis courts that will benefit not only future Challenger tournaments but the thousands of community and youth tennis players who play there every year.
We look forward to making a strong return in 2022.”
-Laurie Bowen, Tournament Director
-Howard Rittenberg, Levene Gouldin & Thompson

2020 Tournament Canceled

The 2020 Levene Gouldin & Thompson Tennis Challenger wil not take place due to the continuing outbreak of COVID-19.

Thank you to all of our fans and sponsors for your support of the event and we look forward to 2021!

Yuichi Sugita Claims Singles Title

2019 Singles champ Yuichi Sugita

Your 2019 Levene Gouldin & Thompson Tennis Challenger champions have been crowned with Yuichi Sugita taking home the singles crown and Max Purcell and Luke Saville taking home the doubles title.

Yuichi Sugita and Joao Menezes took to the court in hopes of picking up their first Singles title in Binghamton. In the first set, Sugita and Menezes stayed neck and neck with each other to get to 6-6. It was Sugita though who would take the opener 7-6(2).

2019 finalist Joao Menezes

In the second set, Menezes was able to turn things around and race through the set 6-1 to force a third. In the decisive set, Sugita was able to turn the tides and claim his 10th ATP Challenger title with a final score of 7-6(2), 1-6, 6-2.

“This is really, really important,” said Sugita. “I forgot what is my tennis, but these five matches has got my intensity back. My tennis has come back, so this is a big win for this title.”

Kicking off action on Sunday was the doubles final with No. 1 seeds Max Purcell and Luke Saville taking on the No. 2 seeds JC Aragone and Alex Lawson. In the first set, Purcell and Saville made their move at 4-4, breaking the American duo and closing out the set 6-4. In the second, it would be Aragone and Lawson taking the second set in the same fashion, forcing a third set tiebreak. Purcell and Saville were able to race ahead and close out the match with a final score of 6-4, 4-6, 10-5 to claim their sixth doubles title of the year.

Yuichi Sugita after win

2019 Singles champ Sugita now heads to China for his next event, knowing that he will have a spot in US Open qualifying tournament.

From here, the USTA Pro Circuit now heads to Lexington, KY for the Kentucky Bank Tennis Championships. Everything is on the line as Americans continue to battle it out for points in the USTA’s US Open Wild Card Challenge. JJ Wolf, JC Aragone, Collin Altamirano, and Maxime Cressy are just a few of the players expected to compete.

Sugita & Menezes Advance To Singles Final

The 2019 LG&T Challenger singles title will be decided between Yuichi Sugita and Joao Menezes in the championship match on Sunday.

In the first singles semifinal of the day, it was Joao Menezes taking on Evgeny Karlovskiy. With everything on the line, Menezes raced through the first set 6-3 and kept his momentum going into the second. The 22-year-old Brazilian grabbed the break and was able to close out the match with a final score of 6-3, 6-3.

With the win, Menezes continues to build on a stellar year. He will be playing in his second career ATP Challenger final and is expected to crack into the top 200 with a win on Sunday.

Next, Yuichi Sugita and Mitchell Krueger took to the court, both looking for the last spot in the final. Sugita cruised through the opening set 6-3, but Krueger mounted a comeback in the second to force the match into a deciding set. Sugita waited until 4-4 to make his move, breaking Krueger and serving out the match with a final score of 6-3, 4-6, 6-4.

Earlier in the day, the semifinals for doubles were played. In the first match of the day, the No. 1 seeds of Max Purcell and Luke Saville defeated Diego Hidalgo and Martin Redlicki 6-4, 6-2. Next up, No. 2 seeds JC Aragone and Alex Lawson battled past Sekou Bangoura and Teymuraz Gabashvili, 7-6(3), 3-6, 10-7.

This year, Saturday’s highlight Wilson Free for All was canceled due to inclement weather. The LG&T Tennis Challenger also kicked off the evening Rumble Ponies game, as Alex Lawson threw out the first pitch.

On Sunday

Championship Sunday will begin with the double final at 11:00 a.m. The Singles final will follow shortly after the doubles trophy ceremony, with Sugita and Menezes battling it our for the title.

Karlovskiy, Krueger, Menezes, & Sugita Advanced to Semis

In Friday’s featured evening match, No. 7 seed Mitchell Krueger took to the court against the highest remaining seed, Dudi Sela, to secure his spot in the Semi-Finals. The No. 4 seed quickly took the opening set 6-1, but the American was able to hang close in the second and force the tiebreak. Krueger closed out the second 7-6(5) and kept that rolling into the final set. Krueger made his move, breaking Sela, and was able to hold serve and close out the match with a final score of 1-6, 7-6(5), 6-4.
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Players Secure Spots in Quarterfinals

It was a battle of the seeds in Thursday’s featured match as Mitchell Krueger (No. 7) and Jannik Sinner (No. 9) battled it out for the last spot in the Friday quarterfinals. Krueger, a finalist here in Binghamton on 2016, made a late comeback in the first to take the opening set 7-5. Sinner came out firing in the second and quickly took it 6-1. In the final set, the two stayed on serve until late in the set when Krueger was able to grab the crucial break and close out the match with a final score of 7-5, 1-6, 6-3.
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Seeded Players Tumble on Wednesday

The number three and five seeded players were among those eliminated in second round action on Wednesday. Sergiy Stakhovsky, No. 3 seed and former 2014 LG&T Champ, fell to newly minted WTT M25 Iowa City champ, Alex Rybakov. Rybakov took the opening set in a tiebreak, but Stakhovsky was able to fight back and force a third. In the decisive set it was Rybakov who would come out on top, winning the match 7-6(8), 4-6, 7-6(5) in a tight three-set battle.
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Main Draw Begins at Recreation Park

After a rained-out opening day, professional tennis returned to the courts of Recreation Park on Tuesday as the main draw action got underway.

In the featured evening match, rising Ohio State junior, John McNally, took to the court against fellow American Nathan Pasha. McNally and Pasha stayed with each other in the first and forced the tie-break where McNally was able to take control and close out the opening set 7-6(2).
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World No. 105 Marcel Granollers Headlines Main Draw Field

marcel granollers at the 2018 LGT doubles final

Marcel Granollers of Barcelona, Spain will headline the competitors for the 2019 tournament. Currently No. 105, Granollers is the highest-ranked of the 40 men who received direct acceptance into the 48-player main draw. The 33-year-old has claimed four ATP Tour titles in his career, with his most recent coming in August 2013 in Austria. The Spaniard reached a career-high ranking of No. 19 in the world in 2012 and has recorded wins over six top ten players including Andy Murray, James Blake, and David Ferrer.

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New York Native Noah Rubin Awarded Wild Card

Noah Rubin of Long Island, New York has been awarded a wild card into the 2019 main draw. Rubin is currently ranked No. 170 in the world and is fresh-off a strong run through qualifying at Wimbledon. The 23-year-old won three matches to make the main draw of Wimbledon for the first time in his career. He was then defeated by 2018 LG&T Tennis Challenger champion Jay Clarke in a tight four set match.

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