The Oracle Challenger Series today announced its return to Southern California for two events in early 2020. The third stop of the 2019-2020 series takes place at the Newport Beach Tennis Club on January 27 – February 2. The Indian Wells Tennis Garden hosts the final tournament on March 2-8.
Now in its third year, the Oracle Challenger Series helps up-and-coming American players secure both ranking points and prize money in the United States. The two American men and two American women who accumulate the most points over the course of the Challenger Series receive wild cards into the singles main draws at the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells. As part of the Oracle Challenger Series’ mission to grow the sport and make professional tennis events more accessible, each tournament is free and open to the public.
The Newport Beach and Indian Wells events will conclude the 2019-2020 Road to Indian Wells and are instrumental in determining which American players receive wild card berths at the 2020 BNP Paribas Open. At the halfway point of the Challenger Series, Houston champion Marcos Giron holds the top spot for the men. Usue Arconada is in first place for the women following an impressive showing in New Haven with finals appearances in both singles and doubles. Trailing just behind them are Tommy Paul, the men’s champion in New Haven, and CoCo Vandeweghe, the women’s runner-up in Houston.
The Newport Beach event has propelled its champions to career-defining seasons over the previous two years. Americans Taylor Fritz and Danielle Collins began their steady climb up the world rankings by capturing the titles at the 2018 inaugural event. Bianca Andreescu’s 2019 title marked the beginning of her meteoric rise to WTA stardom. Likewise, the Indian Wells event has featured some of the Challenger Series’ strongest player fields and produced champions Martin Klizan, Sara Errani, Kyle Edmund and Viktorija Golubic.
The Newport Beach tournament will also feature the Oracle Champions Cup which takes place on Saturday, February 1. Former World No. 1 and 2003 US Open Champion Andy Roddick; 10-time ATP Tour titlist and former World No. 4 James Blake; 2004 Olympic silver medalist and 6-time ATP Tour singles winner Mardy Fish; and 2005 US Open semifinalist Robby Ginepri headline the one-night tournament. The event consists of two one-set semifinals with the winners meeting in a one-set championship match.
Tickets to the Oracle Champions Cup go on-sale to the general public on Tuesday, December 17. Special VIP packages including play with the pros, special back-stage access and an exclusive player party are also available.
