Tennis center opens with state junior open
It’s a fact that Rome has become a tennis town, hosting several tournaments a year as well as numerous programs for both adults and children.
The Georgia State Junior Open is one of those tournaments. And the brand new tennis center it got to break in on Saturday moves Rome up on the scale of both competition and amenities for those who play there.
City officials and the staff of the 54-court Rome Tennis Center at Berry College are using the annual USTA-sanctioned youth tournament as a soft opening. But it is also is a chance for a few local players to be some of the first to test the baselines on the new surfaces.
Armuchee 10-year-old Timothy Valancius played on one of the courts that are also lined off with smaller dimensions for younger players in his opening match of the tournament.
“This is so important just to our family,” Cathy Valancius said as she watched her son begin to play. “There is just so much public tennis here that you can’t find in other places without joining private clubs. This facility makes it even better.”
Valancius and his parents moved to Floyd County from Pennsylvania two years ago. Cathy Valancius said she and her husband are both tennis fans, so Rome appealed to them when looking for a new place to live.
“This is a huge reason why we moved here, and it seems like a good decision now,” Cathy Valancius said. “We all play tennis, and there just aren’t other places that fit our mold like Rome and its facilities, especially now.”
Timothy, who began playing soon after his family moved here, lost in straight sets in his opening match Saturday and will be back out this morning to try to work his way through the consolation rounds.
Jamie Stone grew up in Rome and his son, Parker Stone, has picked up his passion for tennis, leading him to compete in the tournament’s 14-year-old boys’ division this weekend.
Parker hasn’t competed in a tournament outside of Floyd County and, with the new facility now in
operation, Jamie is hopeful he won’t have to.
“The new facility brings in a higher level of competitor into the community and gives Parker the opportunity to play kids at a higher level, thus improving his game,” Jamie said.
Jamie and Parker got a glimpse of the Rome Tennis Center on Friday, but actually played on the courts at Berry College on Saturday. Parker lost his match 6-3, 6-2, and will play at the Rome Tennis Center this morning in the consolation rounds.
Alex Hawkins of Chattanooga was at the center Saturday watching his daughter Drew Hawkins compete as the No. 1 seed in the girls’ 18-year-old singles division.
Hawkins’ daughter made it on to the round of 16, defeating her opponent 6-1, 6-3 in her opening match Saturday. He said Rome should be proud of what they have, and the future it might bring.
“Rome’s investment in tennis is something you aren’t going to find in many other places,” Hawkins said. “What this facility is going to bring in is just enormous. For a city of this size to have this facility … I mean, Atlanta doesn’t even have something like this.”
The Rome Tennis Center at Berry College will have a grand opening on July 29, the first day of the Clocktower Classic Wheelchair Tennis Open.