USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center Presents Tennis and Rockin’ Blues Featuring One-on-One Doubles

January 1, 2010 | By Long Island Tennis Magazine Staff

The USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center will be hosting an event sure to electrify the Tennis Industry on Saturday, Jan. 30 to celebrate the finals of the Australian Open. Past Australian greats have been known to Serve-and-Volley their way to many championships over the years.

Keeping consistent with the event’s theme, the USTA BJK National Tennis Center will be bringing in the exciting and unique game called One-On-One Doubles Tennis. The half-court, serve-and-volley Singles game played on the standard doubles court, produced by One-On-One Doubles Inc, is played to rockin’ blues music during its tournament competitions. The server must serve-and-volley on both first and second serves or there is a loss of point; half-volleys are permitted. All points are played crosscourt. The game is action-packed, fast-moving and displays all of the game’s shots.

Originally played as a practice drill, the game’s founder, Ed Krass, has developed a four-hour tournament format, now USTA sanctioned, where there are defining game boundaries and rules. Ed Krass is the former Harvard women’s coach and founder/director of the College Tennis Exposure Camp.

One-On-One Doubles Tennis was played as part of the ATP Challenger, the BMW Championships in Sunrise, Fla., in 2007 and 2008. A sold-out crowd was treated to an exciting One-On-One Doubles final won by Austrian Davis Cup Star, Stefan Koubek.

One-On-One Doubles Tennis is widely considered the first new game, to singles and doubles, since the game’s inception in the 1870s.

The game is being played on college campuses nationwide. Just this past September, Stony Brook University hosted a Division 1 Women’s Collegiate One-On-One Doubles tournament. The ITA National College Coaches Convention has hosted One-On-One Doubles prize money tournaments over the past four years.

The Jan. 30 tournament will start at 10:00 p.m. and finish at 2:00 a.m. with all participants competing in the USTA’s compass draw format of play. There will be three divisions of play offered: A $1,000 Men’s Open Division; A $1,000 Men’s 35 & Over Division and a Men’s and Women’s recreational division. A Wheelchair Tennis exhibition will also be featured. Entry fees are $95 per player and general admission is $50 per person. Event proceeds to benefit the Jana Hunsaker Foundation.

The Todd Wolfe Band, one of the nation’s premiere rockin’ blues bands, will perform throughout the event. Todd played lead guitar for Sheryl Crow during the 1990s and now tours, extensively throughout the U.S. with his own band.

The event will include a cocktail reception, tournament t-shirts, live feed of the Australian Open Final and live music. All players will receive a ranking on the game’s We bsite, www.oneononedoubles.com. Free prizes will be given out during the event.

To register for this tournament, please go to www.eastern.usta.com. The deadline for entries is Friday, Jan. 15.

For more information regarding this event, please contact the NTC at (718) 760-6200, ext. 0 and to learn more about One-On-One Doubles Tennis, visit www.oneononedoubles.com. For future event information and hosting opportunities, please contact One-on-One Doubles Inc. Executive Director Ed Krass by e-mail at oneononedoubles@yahoo.com. For sponsorship and broadcast opportunities, contact Howard Lipkint of Goin Mobile Entertainment LLC by e-mail at howard@goinmobileentertainment.com.
 


Long Island Tennis Magazine Staff
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