The Progress Tour was proud to deliver the first $50,000 UTR Pro Tennis Tour event of the year on the pristine courts of Cardiff Met University last week, as the Cardiff crowd were treated to a spectacular showcase of elite Men's and Women's pro tennis across an action packed week.
With a minimum requirement of UTR 8.00 for female players and UTR 11.50 for male players, UTR Pro Tennis Tour events guarantee to produce some high end tennis and last week was a great testament to this. From Junior Grand Slam semi-finalists, to former top 200 ATP/WTA players, to NCAA Champions, the list of participants set the stage for an exciting week.
See an overview of the results and a detailed description of the Finals day below...
Men's Champion... Alexis Canter!
The Men's event culminated in a tight final battle between Alexis Canter (UTR 12.89) and James Story (13.56). Story, the top seed and Welsh Number 1, came up against an inspired Canter, with the London native taking home the winner's title with a 6-4 6-4 score!
Having also defeated second seed and previous UTR PTT Champion, Ewen Lumsden, in the Semi-Finals, Alexis described his Playoff wins as 'some of the best wins he has had in a long time.' A new approach helped Alexis to stay relaxed and played his best tennis in the key moments, 'focusing more on the process, rather than the outcome' - this approach certainly appeared to pay dividends in the latter stages of the event. Alexis will be celebrating his win by taking a well-deserved week off in Madeira with his family.
Women's Champion... Katarina Stresnakova!
The Women's Finals featured WTA Number 689 Katarina Stresnakova and up and coming 17- year-old Brit Flora Johnson. Stresnakova is a familiar face on The Progress Tour, having appeared a number of times in in the latter stages of events, most recently being crowned Champion at the Cardiff Progress Tour event at the turn of the year.
Johnson, on the other hand, has showcased her talents on the ITF Juniors circuit with a 3rd round appearance at the Junior Wimbledon Championships last Summer. She is currently ranked in the top 90 of the ITF Junior World rankings, and is set to head stateside later this year to take up a college scholarship.
Although the line-up promised a tight battle, Katarina's extensive experience in the higher echelons of the game helped her to prevail in convincing fashion, stunning Flora with a 6-0 6-1 score to claim her maiden UTR Pro Tennis Tour title. The conditions in Cardiff appear to suit Katie, who is now on a 10 match unbeaten streak in the Welsh capital, with two titles to her name this year.
Katie will look to take the confidence (and dollars) earned this week, as she heads straight back on to the ITF circuit in France.
'It's the people that make the difference'
As we wrap up another successful tournament, we want to express our gratitude to the team of students and support staff behind the scenes, all fully invested and combining to make the event a success, under the expert guidance of Director of Tennis, Billy Barclay. A special thanks also to Head Referee Andy Fyfe, our team of ITF Chair Umpires, on-site physio, IT and ops team and to off-site support from SportRadar and UTR sports, and of course to the 44 players who competed across the week.
Our goal with The Progress Tour has always been to platform up and coming players - the on-site media team in Cardiff helped to do just that, with some superb coverage across the week!
You can catch up with event coverage via our channels and @cmettennis, including exclusive behind-the-scenes features, interactive player interviews, post-match commentary, and more!
Register for The Progress Tour's next UTR PTT Event in April!
Loughborough | 14-20 April
The Progress Tour is hosting its first UTR PTT event in Loughborough, once again featuring both a Women's and Men's event. Players will be guaranteed 5-6 matches over the course of 7 days and great prize money to boot. Entries close at 19:00 GMT on 31 March.
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