NEW HAVEN OPEN UNVEILS REFURBISHED TENNIS COURTS AT MCCLAIN PARK
Former World No. 9 Andrea Petkovic Leads Inaugural Tennis Clinic
NEW HAVEN, Conn., August 16, 2012– The 2012 New Haven Open at Yale presented by First Niagara, a WTA event that is part ofthe Emirates Airline USOpen Series to be held August 17-25, 2012 at the Connecticut Tennis Center, today unveiled refurbished tennis courts at McClain Park in New Haven.
The refurbished courts are part of the Fresh Courts program, which was introduced in 2010 by American Express and the United States Tennis Association and designed to support local tennis in communities across the U.S.
McClainPark was chosen for the renovations due in part to its close proximity to seven schools in and around the Hill Section of New Haven.
Truman School, which is across the street from McClain Park, has already partnered with the New Haven Open and Yale Athletics to create an after-school program called TEaM (Tennis, Education and Mentoring). The newly refurbished and age-appropriate courts at McClain will give these local youth a chance to practice tennis in between sessions at Yale’s Cullman-Heyman indoor courts.
Petkovic will be participating in next week’s New Haven Open, making a comeback to the courts after injuries derailed much of her 2012 season. In 2011, Petkovic was the only player to reach the quarterfinals of three of the four Grand Slams, achieving a career-high ranking of No. 9 in the world in October. She has not played a professional match since April due to her injuries, but will be on-court in New Haven to reclaim her spot in the top of the WTA.
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–Jeff Watson
