ITA Announces Return of Summer Circuit

The ITA Summer Circuit continues to grow and evolve.

Thanks to the recently announced five-year partnership with Universal Tennis, the ITA Summer Circuit has been rebranded and will now be known as the ITA Summer Circuit Powered by UTR. The ITA will utilize the Universal Tennis event platform "UTR Events" as the tournament management system for the Summer Circuit events, and both organizations will work together in developing the ITA Summer Circuit Powered by UTR as a model for level-based play.

"The ITA couldn't be more excited about the 2017 ITA Summer Circuit Powered by UTR," said ITA Director of Championships Cory Brooks. "If the highlight of 2016 was the expansion in the number of events and resulting boom in participation, 2017 will be highlighted by our new partnership with UTR. At the end of the day, the ITA Summer Circuit has always been about providing our college athletes and advanced level high school juniors and seniors match play opportunities during a time of the year where those opportunities can be scarce.

"Our partnership with UTR will professionalize that experience by providing a central location for players, coaches and parents to register for and follow these events, as well as by expediting the entry of results from circuit events into the UTR system," added Brooks. "In addition, the ITA and UTR will be working closely together on experimenting with draw making formats that create more competitive match opportunities for our participants."

In addition to the Summer Circuit enhancements, TCU has officially been named as the host site for the 2017 ITA National Summer Championships, which will be held August 12-15.

"When I first heard about the possibility of hosting ITA National Summer Championships, my immediate emotions were bittersweet," said TCU women's tennis head coach Lee Walker. "On one hand, I was thinking about (former Indiana University women's tennis head coach) Lin Loring and (current IU women's tennis head coach) Ramiro Azcui and the excellent job they did in not only creating the Summer Circuit, but also consistently hosting such a great event for so many years. As a player, I was able to compete in the ITA Summer Nationals for three years, and for the last 13 years as a coach it's been routine to encourage our players to get up to Indiana University for the tournament.

"So, in a lot of ways, it was sentimental and sad to see it leave IU. On the other hand, when I came to TCU nearly three years ago, it was a vision, along with (David Roditi, men's tennis head coach) for TCU Tennis to be a central hub for all levels of play, regionally, nationally and internationally," added Walker. "We've been able to host junior tournaments, adult tournaments, high school tournaments and many college tournaments, including the ITA Regional Championships multiple times. But, we've been wanting something bigger at the top of college tennis. Whether it be a fall or winter ITA National Championship, or an NCAA Championship, which we've submitted bids for the coming years, we just want the top of college tennis here. So, to get this opportunity to host such a prestigious event is an incredible privilege. We couldn't be happier and we aim to make it a first-class event in every way. The city of Fort Worth and everyone here at TCU is grateful and committed to hosting the best of college tennis this August."

The ITA Summer Circuit Powered by UTR, which began in 1993, provides college tennis players, along with junior players and alumni, the opportunity to compete in organized events during the summer months.

For the second consecutive year, the ITA Summer Circuit Powered by UTR will feature more than 50 tournaments, all held on ITA member campuses, during a six-week stretch from late June to the end of July, and will culminate in the ITA National Summer Championships.

"I am excited for the 2017 ITA Summer Circuit Powered by UTR," said Betsy Kuhle, chair of the ITA Summer Circuit committee and retired Western Michigan women's tennis coach. "There will be over 50 tournaments available during six consecutive weekends in June and July. Playing either on Friday through Sunday or Saturday through Monday gives college players opportunities to compete in the summer and still have a summer job or go to school. This year the ITA has done an exceptional job by having tournaments hosted in 24 different states."

To be able to register for any ITA Summer Circuit tournaments, you must be an active ITA member. You may sign up for an ITA membership here