One-On-One Doubles Tournaments Return To The Big Apple

January 30, 2017 | By Long Island Tennis Magazine Staff

One-On-One Doubles Tennis, the half-court serve-and-volley Singles game played crosscourt including the alley, returns to the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center April 28-30, 2017 as a USTA National Category III Tournament. The Innovations Tennis Challenges will include both a Singles tournament and One-On-One Doubles tournament for the three playing divisions offered:  Men's 35 & Over; Men's 45 & Over and Men's 55 & Over.

Since the game's inception in 2004, One-On-One Doubles has been played as part of ATP, USTA, USPTA and ITA national events.  Whitney Kraft, Tennis Director at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center, will be the tournament director. "We are excited to bring back One-On-One Doubles Tennis to the NTC. The game displays plenty of action packed, all-court play. Our first Men's One-On-One Doubles tournament was won by Jared Palmer in 2008”.

One-On-One Doubles, called the Third Game of Tennis, has been played in its tournament format, throughout the East Coast, since 2004. Stony Brook University has hosted several Division I Women's One-On-One Doubles tournaments during their Fall season.

One-On-One Doubles Tennis is played on college campuses nationwide. Ed Krass, former Harvard Women's Tennis Coach and Director of the 29th Annual College Tennis Exposure Camps, is the founder of One-On-One Doubles tournaments. The ITA National Coaches Convention recently hosted their 12th Annual One-On-One Doubles prize money tournament in Naples, Fla. in December 2016.

The format of tournament play is round-robin pool play with short, no-ad sets, first to win 4 games with a 9-point tiebreaker played at 3-3. Winners of each round robin proceed to the Single Elimination rounds based on draw size. Matches are played to music to add to the lively atmosphere of the One-On-One Doubles Tournaments.

Mikael Pernfors, Singles Finalist at the 1986 French Open and past tournament Winner, stated "Playing in the One-On-One Doubles Tournaments have been a great experience for me. The tournament format provides a great atmosphere and fun tennis."

Ashley Fisher, 2006 U.S. Open Doubles Semifinalist, has played in six events in Florida and captured a few titles along the way. "Playing One-On-One Doubles is always a highlight of my year. The tournaments combine energy, music and a high level of tennis," said Fisher.

To register for the Innovations Challenges CAT III National One-On-One Doubles and/or 24 point Sets Singles Tournaments, to be held at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center, April 28-30,  enter USTA Tournament ID # 100018817. 

For more information about the tournaments, e-mail Whitney Kraft at ntctournaments@usta.com. For more information about One-On-One Doubles Tournaments, visit http://www.oneononedoubles.com/.


Long Island Tennis Magazine Staff
Centercourt
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