USTA Ends 40-Year Hiatus In Louisville, Adding WTA Tourney To '16 Schedule

Pro tennis has been "absent in Louisville" since the '70s, but it will "make its return to town" in '16 with a lower-level WTA tournament, according to Jonathan Lintner of the Louisville COURIER-JOURNAL. USTA Kentucky Promotions & Marketing Coordinator Brad Gordon on Monday said that a "32-player, hard-court event will be contested for at least five years" each August, "falling a week before the U.S. Open." It will be called the Louisville Int'l Open, and the first event "is slated for Aug. 22-28, 2016, at a location to be announced" tomorrow. Gordon said that "'several' stadium-seating courts and a center court will be included in a 'really nice, state-of-the-art' setup." Gordon said that although the new event will be played the same week as a higher-level tournament in New Haven, Conn., it "should still attract several top 100 players." Lintner noted Cincinnati's Western & Southern Open "precedes Louisville on the WTA Tour calendar" ( Louisville COURIER-JOURNAL, 6/2 ).