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The UTR Pro Tennis Tour (PTT) ended its second season in 2022 with 15 events in seven countries. Wasting no time, the 2023 season kicked off with another 15 events in new destinations, including Costa Rica.
Let’s take a closer look at some of the PTT champions.
The PTT Arrives in Costa Rica
San Jose hosted the first-ever PTT events in Costa Rica with Manuel Sanchez Montemayor winning both tournaments in back-to-back weeks. The 32-year-old Mexican dropped just two sets across 12 matches, both in a tiebreak.
Costa Rica is the 24th PTT host country since the tour’s inception in 2021 and one of four nations to offer events with full hospitality along with Canada, the United Arab Emirates, and Mexico.
American Teen Pulls of Repeat
Alex Michelsen ended his 2021 season just like how he finished his 2022 season by winning a PTT title in Newport Beach. The 18-year-old won all six matches last month in straight sets, defeating Sebastian Gorzy in the semifinals and Yuta Kikuchi in the final. Michelsen and Gorzy won the junior Wimbledon title last summer.
Michelsen would take momentum into the new year, reaching the final of an ITF M25 in Malibu and winning the ITF M15 in Edmond the week after. This week at an ATP Challenger in Cleveland, Michelsen took out Jack Sock for the biggest win of his career.
Familiar Faces Win in Boca and Newport
Maciej Rajski, a 31-year-old from Poland, captured the PTT $25K in Newport Beach in January. He earned the honor of PTT Men’s Player of the Year in 2022 with 5 event wins and a 38-2 record, picking up $21,225 in prize money.
Meanwhile, University of South Carolina grad Mia Horvit picked up her fifth career PTT title, in Boca Raton at the Rick Macci Tennis Academy, during the week of Dec. 4-12. Horvit has now won PTT crowns in four cities.
A few weeks later, Macci’s hosted another women’s PTT with Georgia Tech junior Carol Lee going all the way, capping her week off with a win over Katerina Stewart. The 21-year-old Lee won two PTT crowns in 2022, and has been balancing ITF and PTT tournaments with a full college schedule (she reached the 2022 ITA National Fall Championships semifinals).
Kostova Snags Seventh Win
Over in Europe, Elitsa Kostova won PTT events in Spain and Bulgaria, one in December and two in January. The 32-year-old Bulgarian turned pro in 2006 and reached her career-high WTA ranking in 2016. She has now won a whopping seven PTT trophies, and hasn’t ventured to the ITF Tour since 2021.
Atlanta Offers ITF Wild Card
Yuliia Starodubtseva won more than prize money at the PTT $25K in Atlanta during the last week of January. The 22-year-old Ukrainian, who is a senior at Old Dominion, snagged a wild card by capturing the event. She won her first five matches handily before being pushed to three sets by McCartney Kessler in the final.
The ITF W60K in Rome this week is loaded with PTT talent, including 11-time PTT champion Marcela Zacarias, Liv Hovde, and Gabriela Knutson.
Photo Gallery (Boca Raton, Newport Beach, and Argentina)
About the UTR Pro Tennis Tour
The PTT is open to players with a UTR Ranking of 200-2000, and wild cards can be awarded to those players with a UTR Ranking of 1-199 or above 2000. Every PTT event creates matchplay opportunities for up-and-coming, collegiate, and pro players thanks to a unique round-robin format. At every event, a group round-robin stage is followed by a World Cup-style playoff, guaranteeing multiple matches and counting all results towards the UTR Rating, the most accurate rating system in tennis. Every PTT event offers 4-5 matches and a minimum of $20,000 in prize money with an earnings guarantee for every participant.
For more information about UTR PTT and to see all of the results, click here.