Red Rock Pro Open Player Field Announced
Talented Group Includes Former World-Ranked No. 11 Peer,
U.S. Open Main Draw Players, and Former NCAA Singles and Doubles Winner Gibbs
Shelby Rogers (Photo: Craig Glover)
SUMMERLIN (Sept. 22, 2015) – When Shelby Rogers squared off against fellow American Sachia Vickery in the first round of the U.S. Open, it was a match pitting two popular former and current Red Rock Pro Open players.
The 22-year-old South Carolina native Rogers, who won five consecutive matches at the year’s final Grand Slam, including three wins to qualify, beat the wild card Vickery, 6-2, 6-2, and won another round before falling to No. 2-seeded Simona Halep in the third round.
Telling reporters she was “loving every minute of her U.S. Open experience, Rogers said her third-round appearance was, “why we play the sport. That’s why we try to win each match, to get to the further rounds and play the bigger players.”
Las Vegas tennis fans will remember that Rogers made the final here in 2012, losing to Lauren Davis in three sets.
This year’s Red Rock Pro Open, a USTA Women’s $50,000 Pro Circuit tournament with WTA players ranging in the world rankings from No. 100 to No. 275, will include 64 singles players (32 qualifying and 32 main draw), and a 16-team doubles draw.
Former two-time NCAA singles champion Nicole Gibbs is expected to be one of the top seeded players, as will Shahar Peer. The 28-year-old from Israel has been ranked as high as No. 11 in the world, and has been a quarterfinalist at Wimbledon and the U.S. Open in her successful career.
As a sophomore in 2012, Gibbs pulled off a historic sweep of the year’s NCAA singles and doubles titles and became only the third player in NCAA history to capture both NCAA titles in the same season. Gibbs then repeated as NCAA singles champion the following year, before turning pro before her senior year.
“Las Vegas has always hosted a very competitive tournament and this year’s main draw talent showcases a few former Top 50 players including 2011 Las Vegas champ Romina Oprandi and former No. 11 Shahar Peer,” said tournament director Mike Copenhaver. “Nearly half of the main draw competitors this year are young, notable Americans, a site that we all love to see!”
Former Red Rock Pro Open player Anna Tatishvili is also entered in the main draw after a good run at the U.S. Open where she won three rounds in qualifying before shocking No. 8-seeded Karolina Pliskova in the first round, and then lost to 2014 Las Vegas winner Madison Brengle in the second round. Tatishvili reached a career-high ranking of No. 50 in 2012, the same year she reached the fourth round at the U.S. Open
The USTA-trained Louisa Chirico is another one to watch out for. Chirico has risen to the cusp of a top-100 ranking as a teenager. This summer, she defeated Top 25 player Alize Cornet to reach the quarterfinals at the Washington D.C. WTA event.
The 2011 Red Rock Pro Open champion Romina Oprandi was Switzerland is entered, as is the player she beat in the final, American Alexa Glatch. Glatch left Vegas with a first and a second having captured the doubles title with Mashona Washington.
Notable American in qualifying and past Red Rock Pro Open players include: former UCLA star Jennifer Brady, Julie Bosserup and Samantha Crawford, who won the 2012 U.S. Open Junior Girls’ singles title.
Premier sponsors include: Gaudin Jaguar of Las Vegas, Storage One, Sunrise Hospital, Lotus Broadcasting, Cox Communications, WG Communications Group, Rachel’s Kitchen, USTA Nevada, Marquis Aurbach Coffing, Marty Hennessy Foundation, and FedEx.
Support sponsors included: Darren Cahill, Marcy Saxe Realty One, Guild Mortgage Company, Allstate Insurance agent Dwain Frazier, Raymond James agent Dan Jackson, The Massage Advantage, Adidas, Wolf Rifkin, Agent Atleta, and Babolat.
In last year’s singles final, Brengle captured the singles title which launched her into the Top 100 and stirred her confidence to the point where she won her first WTA title to start 2015, and made the fourth round of the Australian Open. Brengle led the Mylan World TeamTennis Washington Kastles to a fifth consecutive summer title back in July, and now finds herself ranked inside the top 40.
It’s not uncommon for past Las Vegas players to go on and have success on the WTA Tour. Last year’s singles winner Madison Brengle is currently ranked No. 42 in the world. Other regulars on the Tour fulltime include Lauren Davis, Sorana Cirstea, Melanie Oudin, Varvara Lepchenko and Coco Vandeweghe.
A free Kid’s Day will take place once again on Sunday, Sept. 27 and will be sponsored by Sunrise Children’s Hospital with a special guest appearance by Brando Christo, the author and creator of the children’s tennis book “Buddy The Ball.”
A sponsor Pro-Am will be held on Monday, and the always popular Players’ Party is Tuesday night.
For ball kid information or to volunteer, go to: redrockproopen.com/volunteer; to sponsor the tournament, go to: redrockproopen.com/sponsors or contact Copenhaver at: mcopenhaver@redrockcc.com. For a complete schedule of events, go to: redrockproopen.com/schedule.
The tournament’s official website is http://www.RedRockProOpen.com. Follow along on Twitter @RedRockTennis and on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/redrockproopen.
—Steve Pratt
Tennis Atlantic 