Rain delayed the start of singles qualifying Monday morning at the Georgia’s Rome Tennis Open. All 16 qualifying matches were moved indoors onsite.
Georgia’s Rome Tennis Open is the first USTA Pro Circuit event held in the U.S. for 2021. The women’s 60K event runs Jan. 25-31 at the Rome Tennis Center at Berry College.
Qualifying top seed, American, Alexa Glatch, fell in the closest match of the day. Former NCAA doubles champion, Erin Routliffe, who played at Alabama took down the more experienced Glatch, 16-14 in the match tiebreaker to earn the win.
An impressive display by the No. 2 seed in qualifying, Francoise Abanda of Canada with a straight set victory over Joelle Kissell.
A deep singles draw features Olga Govortsova as the No. 1 seed. The Belarusian has been ranked as high as No 35. She reached her first WTA final back in 2008 and in 2020 reached the second round of the US Open.
Mexico’s Renata Zaraua is the second seed. Zarazua peaked at No. 135 in the word and reached the second round of the 2020 French Open.
There are currently 12 Americans in the singles main draw.
In the doubles main draw, Americans, Quinn Gleason and Ingrid Neel are the top seeds.
This truely an international event as 22 different countries are represented in Rome this week.
The women’s event will feature a 32-player singles qualifying draw, a 32-player singles main draw and a 16-team doubles draw with a field made up of well-known professional players as well as up-and-coming junior tennis stars.
In its debut year, Georgia’s Rome Tennis Open will feature many of the best women tennis players in the world. It is the third largest professional tournament in the state of Georgia in terms of prize money (ATP World Tour 250 event – Truist Atlanta Open in July, is the largest, Mercer Tennis Classic 80K Womens is second).
Many of the Rome players have had success in tennis’ four major tournaments.
The event will adhere to all government-mandated COVID-19 restrictions, including social-distancing, throughout the duration of the tournament.
Fans are welcome, if they stay in their parked cars.
Due to the covid protocols set forth by the ITF and USTA, the center is closed to the public, but you can still watch the pro tournament from the comfort of your own car.
There are 30 spots overlooking 3 of the 4 play courts. These spots are first come first serve. Please remain in your car the entire time you are on the property for covid safety protocol.
Please note, there are no bathrooms and the public is not allowed access to the facility.
Monday’s Qualifying Results
Erin ROUTLIFFE (NZL) def Alexa GLATCH (USA) [1] 7-5 3-6 [16-14]
Robin MONTGOMERY (USA) def [10] Katarina JOKIC (SRB) 4-6 6-3 [10-7]
Francoise ABANDA (CAN) [2] def Joelle KISSELL (USA) 7-6(3) 6-1
Tara MOORE (GBR) [14] def Katarina KOZAROV (SRB) 6-1 6-2
Katie VOLYNETS (USA) [3] def Elizabeth COLEMAN (USA) 6-1 6-1
Kimmi HANCE (USA) def Sophia WHITTLE (USA) [11] 6-0 6-1
Ana Sofia SANCHEZ (MEX) [4] def Rhiann NEWBORN (USA) 6-1 6-0
Andrea GAMIZ (VEN) [15] def Laetitia PULCHARTOVA (CZE) 6-0 6-4
Irene BURILLO ESCORIHUELA (ESP) [5] def Allura ZAMARRIPA (USA) 7-6(2) 2-6 [10-6]
Marine PARTAUD (FRA) [16] def Liga DEKMEIJERE (LAT) 6-2 6-1
Sarah HAMNER (USA) def Mari OSAKA (JPN) [6] 7-6(3) 6-4
Maria SANCHEZ (USA) [9] def Ayaka OKUNO (JPN) 6-2 6-2
Maria MATEAS (USA) [13] def Rasheeda MCADOO (USA) 6-1 6-3
Emina BEKTAS (USA) [12] defGabriella PRICE (USA) 6-1 7-6(4)
Reese BRANTMEIER (USA) def Amina ANSHBA (RUS) [7] w.o.
Panna UDVARDY (HUN) [8] def Kennedy SHAFFER (USA) 3-6 6-2 [10-6]
