It's with great pride that we can announce the November - December issue of Florida Tennis is hitting mailboxes as you read this article! The holidays are coming and that means lots of tennis is happening all over the state of Florida. More on that in a moment.

But first, let's take a look back at the US Open with some beautiful photos from contributor Todd Pechter and marvel at the fact that 75% of the finalists live in Florida — Fritz and Sabalenka have residences in Miami and Pegula lives in Boca Raton.

In other big news the USPTA has changed its name to RSPA (Racquet Sports Professionals Association) to address the growing number of popular racquet sports. Delray Beach Open is proud to confirm that both finalists from last year, Taylor Fritz and Tommy Paul, are back again for the tournament in 2025. Fritz will be going for a three-peat this year at the DBO!

Why is there so much tennis this holiday season? Some of the biggest junior tournaments are taking place at IMG (know prior as the Eddie Herr tournament), Little Mo, Orange Bowl, and Jr. Orange Bowl along with it's "cousin" of sorts — the DETA International Tournament series. We profile both the Little Mo and Junior Orange Bowl in depth in this issue.

The Orange Bowl is played at Veltri Racquet Center which was recently recognized as winner of the USTA's outstanding facility program thanks to the efforts of the amazing Dan Debruyne and his fantastic staff. 

We also profile some hotspots on the junior tennis scene.

We visit Team Riggs where a family business is thriving at Lauderdale Tennis Club and Larry Riggs (and son Danny) tell us about their unique approach to junior tennis training and reveal some cool stories about the family patriarch Bobby Riggs — known worldwide by those in the tennis world (and everyone else) for his famous Battle of the Sexes match with Billie Jean King.

Next up, we visit Axis Tennis where Shariq Khan and Chris Begg reveal their approach for getting Axis Tennis players into some of the top college tennis programs. The success of its players speaks volumes about the quality of training at Axis — and we saw it first-hand when we visited their facility.

We also visit the legendary Rick Macci Tennis Academy to learn more about one of Macci's new potential stars — Vlada Hrancher left the war-torn Ukraine and she's making waves in the America's junior tennis world. Her performance (thus far) at Little Mo has been unbelievable. Keep an eye on this one!

Florida Tennis contributor Adam Ross profiles Andre Agassi as he appears to be all over the tennis world once again. We also profile Ed Krass' 36th Annual College Tennis Exposure Camp along with YTF's three marquis collegiate events recently held in the state of Florida.

Thomas Anderson, President at USP, digs into a new era in college recruiting as the NCAA's National Letter of Intent program is ending. It's sending shockwaves through the college sports landscape and Anderson unpacks what it means for junior tennis players.

Meanwhile, USTA Florida explains how tennis is expanding college campuses and showcases its latest HBCU grant at Edward Waters University. We learn more about MaliVai Washington (and the MaliVai Washington Youth Foundation ) who were honored by USTA Florida and received Hall of Fame recognition. New USTA Florida President Chuck Gill also outlines his vision moving forward and we meet the new Board of Directors as well.

We also learn more about recovery after tough matches using PEMF (pulsed electromagnetic field) therapy at Boca Cryo. And Florida Tennis contributor Dave "Koz" Kozlowski gives us a flashback about a Florida tennis teaching professional saving the International Hall of Fame form a fire!

This issue is packed with stories across junior, college, and pro tennis that will inspire you to hit the courts this holiday season!

Digital Issue

A big thank you!

Please be sure to support of our amazing advertising partners:  Rick Macci Tennis Academy, USP College Tennis Showcase, Tennis Plaza, Delray Beach Open, USTA Florida, Evert Tennis Academy, Sofibella, Lucky in Love, Team Riggs,  Axis Tennis, Boca Cryo, David Ensignia Tennis Academy, Delray Beach Tennis Center, College Tennis Exposure Camps, HITT at Sunrise Tennis Club, Youth Tennis Foundation of Florida, Limitless Tennis Center of Excellence, Junior Orange Bowl, The Club at Ibis, Little Mo,  Junior Orange Bowl, University of Florida - Racquet Sports Management Master's and Certificate, RSPA, Veltri Racquet Center, Gino Fava, and The Hampton Inn Orlando Southeast Nona and Home2 Suites Orlando Southeast Nona.

===

Written by Florida Tennis' Editor and Publisher Matt Pressman. Cover Image of the Rick Macci and Vlada Hrancher provided by Rick Macci.