4 July 2020 | Tennis SA

Professional tennis is set to return to Adelaide, with the UTR Pro Tennis Series running from 5-8 July 2020.

Memorial Drive will host three Pool B events during July with players competing for valuable prize money and to improve their Universal Tennis Rating ‘UTR’.

The playing field for Adelaide’s first UTR Pro Tennis Series tournament starting tomorrow, Sunday 5 July have been announced with the state’s best local players set to go head-to -head.

UTR Pro Tennis Series – Adelaide Tournament 1
Players	UTR
Li Tu	UTR 12.74
Nathan Eshmade	UTR 12.39
Jack Schipanski	UTR 12.38
Edward Winter	UTR 12.25
Callum Gale	UTR 12.17
Sean Van Rensburg	UTR 12.16
[WC] Ashwin Vijayaragavan (IND)	UTR 13.38
[ALT] Stefan Bianchet	UTR 12.08

The UTR Pro Tennis Series features stops in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide and Perth, with Sydney having started on Saturday 27 June.

The UTR Pro Tennis Series provides players with the opportunity to compete for $450,000 in prize money following the months-long suspension of the international tours due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and is a key opportunity for players to return to tournament play. Strict biosecurity measures will be in place at each event.

“After such a difficult few months, we are excited to see professional tennis return with the UTR Pro Tennis Series to be held under the canopy at Memorial Drive,” Tennis SA CEO Debbie Sterrey said.

“We have worked really closely with the team to ensure that the appropriate protocols and procedures are in place to allow players to return to court and we look forward to matches commencing on Sunday.”

“With so much of the tennis season still uncertain, our aim through the UTR Pro Tennis Series is to give as many of our athletes the chance to compete and, importantly, also earn prize money, after months of not being able to make their living playing the sport they have devoted their lives to,” Tennis Australia CEO Craig Tiley explained.

“Our team has put an enormous amount of time and effort into the planning of these events, and have worked closely with the authorities and tennis staff around the country on the ground to ensure they are run according to strict local biosecurity protocols.”

The first phase of the UTR Pro Tennis Series will run until August, with the possibility of extending further depending on the resumption of the global tours (ATP/WTA/ITF).

Tournament information

Order of Play – Sunday 5 July 2020
Adelaide – Memorial Drive

Live stream
All matches will be streamed via Tennis Australia’s YouTube channel here.

Live scores
UTR Pro Tennis Series – Adelaide

Additional information

UTR Pro Tennis Series SA Tournaments Calendar

Men’s
Round 1: 5-8 July
Round 2: 19-22 July
Round 3: 28-31 July

Biosecurity, health and safety protocols

• Daily health and temperature checks for all on-site personnel
• Physical distancing of 1.5 metres
• Minimal personnel on site including no fans and ballkids, reduced linespeople
• Additional hygiene practices and measures in place, including encouraging frequent handwashing and use of hand sanitiser
• Thorough cleaning practices, including between matches
• Players will tap racquet instead of shaking hands
• Separate player benches and players encouraged to change ends on opposite sides of the court
• Players advised to bring own towels, food and drinks
• Players to spend minimal time onsite and encouraged to arrive, play and depart, not use showers within the venue and limit their time in any communal area, all in accordance with the AIS Framework for Rebooting Sport.

What is a UTR?

Universal Tennis Rating (UTR) is an international tennis rating system that connects millions of tennis players around the world to help them find better matches locally. UTR reflects a player’s current skill level based on head-to-head match scores, and rates all players across age, gender and nationality on the same 16-point scale. Every player can have a UTR – from the pros to juniors to social tennis players.