There are two types of mens’ tournaments on the USTA Pro Circuit, which include Futures and Challengers. Futures offer prize money starting at $10,000 and valuable ATP points, which help establish a world ranking. Challengers are the same concept but offer a larger amount of money and ATP points to the participants. The summer circuit of Futures and Challengers are, typically, the proving ground for young players or college players trying to establish themselves in the professional world of tennis. Futures and Challengers usually have players with ATP world rankings ranging from 150 to 1000. All events include qualifying tournaments in order to reach the maindraw where prize money and ATP points are earned. The summer circuit acts as a great opportunity and stepping stone for players to travel within one country and earn their way towards a higher ranking, as well as opportunities to play in more world-class events.
The summer circuit is not just a group of tennis players trying to become superstars. There is much more depth, and many more individual stories behind each person and what they are trying to achieve with their tennis and with themselves. For example, some players leave their homes and wont return for months struggling to earn enough money to get them to the next tournament in the next city. Other players are hopeful juniors with sponsors and contracts who will only play a few events to gain match playing experience. Some players even use the circuit as a way to make money and operate a business with no revenue even coming from the tournament, but rather running a racket stringing business, or providing transportation from week to week. There are so many different characters and people that are trying to make it in some way or another. Another interesting dynamic to consider is where the locations of the tournaments are. The tournaments are not located in easy to travel and fun to visit cities throughout the country, but rather located in ghettos, farmlands, and small towns. Some of the cities on the Summer Circuit include: Peoria Illinois, Joplin Missouri, and Harlingen Texas.
I hope for this blog not to be just a report on results or a sports news blog on tennis, but rather a documentation of the real life grind that many world class athletes face; Athletes whom are not rewarded with huge contracts or mulit-million dollar endorsement deals. The summer circuit truly is a dynamic place for players to interact, form relationships, deal with personal struggles on and off the court, and find their way to a tennis career. Sadly, in other cases, players must deal with the painful realization of giving up on a dream or simply losing the desire to even play tennis.
