BLOOMFIELD HILLS — Last year’s hastily assembled trial balloon to see if a professional tennis was feasible in Southeast Michigan after an absence of 35 years went off so well, they’re running it back.
This time, with a full year to plan.
Last summer’s inaugural Cranbrook Tennis Classic — the first pro tennis tournament in Southeast Michigan since 1988 — was an unqualified success, enough so that organizers just this week announced its sequel for this summer.
“We are excited to welcome the international tennis community back to our beautiful Cranbrook campus for Year 2 of the Cranbrook Tennis Classic,” said Aimeclaire Roche, president of Cranbrook Educational Community, which played home to the tournament on its Bloomfield Hills facilities at the high school’s state-of-the-art tennis facility. “Thank you to the Tennis Forward team for raising funds for our athletics program and enticing visitors to experience world-class sports, art and science exhibits, and the natural beauty of our historic community.”
Run by the non-profit 501c3 organization Tennis Forward, all proceeds from the event were slated to go to Cranbrook Athletics and the Palmer Park Tennis Academy in Detroit.
“The Cranbrook Tennis Classic not only showcases incredible tennis talent but also supports a great cause. It’s a true testament to the power of sports to bring communities together,” David DeMuth, CEO of the local ad agency, Doner, who founded Tennis Forward, said in a news release. “As a proud partner of Tennis Forward, the team behind the Cranbrook Tennis Classic is committed to supporting initiatives that promote sportsmanship, skill development, and community engagement through tennis. …
“Last year, this event had a major impact on fundraising for the Palmer Park Tennis Academy in Detroit and Cranbrook Athletics. We were able to provide opportunities for local kids with the opportunity to get involved with pro tennis and donated $25,000 towards those causes. This year, we’re looking forward to bringing back an even bigger, better version of the event, with involvement from Celebrity Match, Kid’s Clinic, and VIP Clinic.”
Last year’s tournament, which ran for a week, starting on July 2, culminated with longtime pro Steve Johnson beating Mikhail Kukushkin in the singles finals, the last of 44 matches between the singles and doubles draws.
The event’s organizers had only had just three months’ notice to put things together, but garnered 37 sponsors for the inaugural running, and brought in more than 3,000 fans, and 215,000 livestream viewers. It was voted the No. 2 event on the ATP Challenger tour by the players, according to the news release.
“This event was truly remarkable. I’ve play a lot of a lot of tournaments over the years, and David and his people, his staff, everybody involved did an absolute phenomenal job just the venue, facility, volunteers, so many people. Really a first-time event and you know with pulling together so quickly, it’s really impressive,” Johnson said after his finals match. “The people that put it on is what makes a tournament. The tennis courts are the same, locker rooms the same. You know what I mean? Like, they’re the same. But the people who put it on care. … So that’s what makes tournaments special. And you can tell it in the in the product out here. I mean, just an incredible event for what they did in such a short span.”
This year’s event will run from June 30 to July 7, and will again pit veteran pro players against up-and-comers for rankings points, as well as a wildcard to the US Open. It already has sponsor backing from organizations such as J.P. Morgan Chase, Burns & Wilcox, Core Power, the Feldman Automotive Group and Ven Johnson Law.
The only hitch for last year’s tournament was out of the organizer’s purview — the weather, which caused delays on the final weekend. Even working around those went smoothly, though.
“Everyone behind the scenes of this tournament — it’s the first time it’s been run and I think it’s one of the best ones I’ve ever played,” said Australian Tristan Schoolkate, who had to sit through both rain delays on the tournament’s penultimate day to finish his singles semifinal match against eventual champion Johnson and his doubles championship match with partner Adam Walton. “It’s been run very well and I mean with all the delays and everything going pear-shaped everything has been done extremely well, so thank you.”
