On May 8th and 9th in West Palm Beach, FL for the UTR Pro Match Series powered by Oracle which was broadcast live on Tennis Channel. This event marks the first live tennis tournament during COVID-19 where the sport can be played locally and safely with 1:1 match play. It’s worth noting that players engaged in “stick fives” were the new high fives, hand sanitizing stations replaced communal water coolers, and players prepped and recovered in individual socially distanced tents on a grassy field. During the matches, winners waved to invisible fans that were not in attendance and they tossed towels to invisible ballkids that were not there as well.

On day 1 of the series, Hubert Hurkacz (UTR 15.35) of Poland got the day started by winning seven consecutive games and defeating former Roland Garros boys’ champion Tommy Paul (UTR 15.31) 4-2 4-0. Big-serving American Reilly Opelka (UTR 15.51) then defeated former world number one junior Miomir Kecmanovic (UTR 15.38) 4-3(4) 4-0, before also defeating his quarantine roommate Paul 3-4(4) 4-1 4-0 to move to 2-0 on the day. Kecmanovic then bounced back with a 4-3(2) 4-1 win over Hurkacz to close out the day’s action.

The format is a round robin best of 3 Fast 4 sets. This will be the format for the finals and the 3rd/4th place playoff. You can see more videos here.

5.8.2020 | UTR PRO MATCH SERIES MEN’S PLAYER LINEUP

Reilly Opelka | Third-ranked American, ATP #39, UTR 15.51 (#25)

Miomir Kecmanović | ATP Next Gen Semifinalist, ATP #47, UTR 15.38 (#43)

Hubert Hurkacz | 2019 Winston-Salem Open Champion, ATP #29, UTR 15.35 (#47)

Tommy Paul | Sixth-ranked American, ATP #57, UTR 15.31 (#58)

American Reilly Opelka, World No. 39, captured the title with a 4-3(2), 2-4, 4-2 win in the final. Despite putting on “Quarantine 15”, he served up a big win over Miomir Kecmanovic. “I’m definitely a little sore which is a good feeling. I’m not going to complain about being tired for the first time,” said Opelka in his post match interview. “UTR did a great job advancing and taking advantage of this time [off due to Covid] to put this event on.”

The event involved atypical drone footage and two jib cameras captured the players exchanging “racquet taps” at the end of each match, on-site skeleton crew in PPE, players recovering in their individual open-air tents, and thorough court cleaning between each match.

After the completion of Round Robin play that saw Opelka, Kecmanovic and Hurkacz go 2-1 in their matches, the big-serving American and young Serb advanced to the championship round. Hurkacz defeated Paul 4-1, 0-4, 4-1 in the third place match to move to 3-1 on the weekend, while Opelka’s win in the championship also helped him go 3-1. All matches this weekend count for each player’s Universal Tennis Rating. Opelka’s UTR 15.55 has his UTR world rank about 10 spots higher than his ATP ranking. Player UTRs changed throughout the tournament reflecting their real-time skill level.

5.9.2020 | UTR PRO MATCH SERIES MEN’S PLAYER LINEUP

Reilly Opelka | Third-ranked American, ATP #39, UTR 15.51 (#25)

Miomir Kecmanović | ATP Next Gen Semifinalist, ATP #47, UTR 15.38 (#43)

Hubert Hurkacz | 2019 Winston-Salem Open Champion, ATP #29, UTR 15.35 (#47)

Tommy Paul | Sixth-ranked American, ATP #57, UTR 15.31 (#58)