Elizabeth Moore Sarasota Open and Sarasota Sports Club join forces

Looking for a more spacious facility to handle the demand of sold-out spectator days, providing more parking availability (and more restrooms), the Elizabeth Moore Sarasota Open was in search of a new home. The new-site exploration task included current ATP Challenger level mandate of providing wider and deeper square footage on the professional championship match courts. Sarasota Sports Club fit the bill with all these features and amenities. 

Sarasota Sports Club management and members are eager to display its 19 Har-Tru clay courts and spacious facility with its fully equipped gym and swimming pool for the tennis competitors, along with private rooms for players, umpires, and tournament staff to handle an established ATP Challenger event.

Sarasota Sports Club is located within the established planned golf community of TPC Prestancia. TPC Prestancia, which was created in 1985, has hosted eight Chrysler Cup Tournaments and five American Express Invitational Championships. It has been frequented by golf greats, Arnold Palmer, Gary Player, Lee Trevino, and Chi Chi Rodriguez. This tennis tournament will now be in an establishment of past “Life-Time-Sport” professional events.

The tournament director of the Elizabeth Moore Sarasota Open is Steve Gareleck, who started the National Tennis Foundation in 2009 at the Racquet Club of the South in Atlanta, GA while in a partnership with the USTA to help kids grow through the experience of tennis. Gareleck has worked with Rafel Nadel, Novak Djokovic, the Bryan Brothers, and Richard Branson in the Necker Cup to provide tennis experiences at the highest level.

Above: Hannah Dal Sasso and Thanasi Kokkinakis in Sarasota after he won the third biggest tournament in Florida over Zizou Bergs. Photo credit: Sarasota Open.

Gareleck stated, “a major thank you to Presenting Sponsor Tommy Express Car Wash CEO Dan Dykgraaf, and CEO of Space Source and a strong appreciation to Mya Widmyer tournament marketing agent. It looks like this tournament is going to be one of the biggest and best that we have ever had. I mean last year we sold-out Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. Tell your friends to get their tickets early, the event has been the biggest and hottest event in town. One thing we can count on is having our local tennis celebrity Jimmy Arias going non-stop entertaining the crowds as he's watching a number of his IMG players in action.  I would say that our event offers the most fun.”

Elizabeth Moore, one of Sarasota's most prominent and influential community leaders, along with her everlasting passion for philanthropy and devout love of tennis, continues her support of the game. In addition to being the title sponsor since 2017, now she is also one of the owners of the tournament.

Moore expressed her emotions about the new collaboration with Sarasota Sports Club. “We are so mutually happy to be working together and growing the game of tennis. We are thrilled to be united and be able to offer high-end professional tennis to the Suncoast and all our tennis supporters. The atmosphere is so healthy and genuine here about sharing tennis with our sporting communities. We are going to be able to offer all the amenities to go with a high-level professional men’s tennis tour event. I love getting to see players launching their careers after participating in our tournament. It is such a joy to be part of the tennis professional’s career. 

We are so happy to continue the Nick Bollettieri Grandstand Championship Court. Nick has been such a wonderful lifetime friend and an authentic contributor to the game. He taught all my family members. Nick enhanced the event and will keep enriching it. We are also extremely excited to be having Audrey Sansotta – Weiss with her abundance of energy and enthusiasm for the sport, moving up to an associate tournament director role.” 

Above: Thanasi Kokkinakis holds the trophy as last year's winner of the Elizabeth Moore Sarasota Open. Photo credit: Sarasota Open.

Two dominant Sarasota figures, Ray Collins and  Barbara Lancer, continue to have a strong impact on the Elizabeth Moore Sarasota Open. Lancer provides the charity event with The Joey Gratton Foundation benefiting The Boys and Girls Club of Sarasota and Desoto Counties. The talented and charismatic Collins, with his TV broadcast career and passion for the sport, spends time around the clock on-court emceeing  and providing player interviews. "The most interesting part for me is announcing these guysmany of whom are teenagers—and then years later, they are household names in the Grand Slams," Collins said.

At press time, the main draw had not been released. As a teaser, there are two “Wild Card” players worth mentioning. In the qualifier draw is Jagger Leach, son of Tennis Hall of Famer Lindsay Davenport and NCAA-All American John Leach. In the main draw qualifier Jenson Brooksby, who had an ATP high ranking of No. 33. 

Plan to attend the Kid's Day - April 6th featuring FREE programming for the Boys and Girls Club, BUDS (Bringing Up Down Syndrome), and other kid’s programs – the action starts at 9 AM brought to you by the National Tennis Foundation.                                                                                                              

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Written by Dave "Koz" Kozlowski. Photo credit (top): Sarasota Open.