Cleveland Open tennis tournament on the horizon

Jan. 27—Fans who are looking to get their tennis fix can head to Pepper Pike for the fifth annual Cleveland Open next week.

The event is scheduled to take place from Sunday to Feb. 5 at the Cleveland Racquet Club.

"This is part of the ATP Challenger Tour, which is like Triple A in baseball," said Tournament Director Alex Guthrie, who is a Perry graduate. "Players are ranked from 90th-to-300th in the world.

"There are a lot of name players on the tour, and are playing in this event to get more points."

Guthrie said Cleveland is the first stop on the United States tour in 2023.

Fourteen players expected in the male field were in the Australian Open. The headline names include Jack Sock, Denis Kudla, Steve Johnson and Michael Mmoh.

Sock was ranked as high as eighth in the world, while Johnson has been 21st.

The prize money is $80,000 with the singles winner receiving $10,840.

Topnotch Management is also giving away wild-card entries. One of them this season is to James Hopper, a Case Western Reserve player who claimed the Division III Doubles Championship at the ITA Cup in October.

The Cleveland Open started in 2019. This summer, after two successful years of Tennis in Cleveland, Topnotch is scheduled to host Tennis in the Land in August.

As part of the U.S. Open Series, and taking place a week prior to the U.S. Open (a Grand Slam event), the event is slated to take place between Aug. 19-26 at Cleveland's Nautica Entertainment Complex in Flats West Bank.

The indoor event next week is a little different concerning seating and planning.

But Guthrie said the atmosphere is also different.

"It's a much smaller footprint," Guthrie said. "The women's event is for the masses, this is more of an intimate feel. It's very fan friendly. Fans are 15-to-20 feet away from actual play."

Despite the differences, though, Guthrie said the tournaments are beneficial to each other.

"It's a great complement," he said. "What we're trying to build is getting the best of both worlds."

In the Cleveland Open, entry is free to the public Sunday through Thursday. Tickets are available to purchase for the tennis Feb. 3-5. All information, including draws and tickets, is available at the tournament website www.topnotchtennisevents.com.