The Mauna Lani Bay Hotel on the Kohala Coast on the Big Island will host Hawai‘i’s first-ever PowerShares Series tennis tournament on Sunday, May 6, 2018, InsideOut Sports & Entertainment announced today.
John McEnroe, Jim Courier, Mardy Fish and Tommy Haas will be the four competing players in the Champions Cup Presented by Hawaii Tourism Authority and will play two one-set semifinal matches and a championship match between the winners.
The tournament will be one of 10 events in 2018 on the PowerShares Series, the North American tennis circuit for champion tennis players over the age of 30. Mauna Lani Bay was also the host venue for the 1992 Davis Cup first round tie between the United States and Argentina, featuring McEnroe.
Jim Courier. Courtesy photo.
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The Champions Cup Presented by Hawaii Tourism Authority will be part of a weekend of events that kicks off Saturday, May 5, with kids clinics and VIP hit-with-the-pros sessions and a VIP party.
USTA members are invited to purchase tickets early via a special pre-sale starting at 10 a.m. HST on Feb. 16 through 11:59 p.m. HST on Feb. 19. Tickets for the general public are on sale starting on Feb. 20 at 10 a.m. HST.
“It’s great that the PowerShares Series has made its way to Hawai‘i, which will undoubtedly be a very enjoyable event,” said McEnroe. “I have some good memories of playing at Mauna Lani Bay in Hawai‘i from our first-round Davis Cup match against Argentina in 1992, when we went on to win the title. It’s going to be great to come back, play some great tennis and enjoy a bit of Hawaiian paradise.”
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Festivities will begin on Saturday, May 5, at 2 p.m. with a charity kids clinic, following by VIP hit-with-the-pros sessions and VIP Player Party.
Tommy Haas. Courtesy photo.
On Sunday, doors will open at 1 p.m. and the program will start with a local exhibition match.
Haas and Fish, the Olympic silver medalists from the 2000 Olympic Games in Sydney and the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens, respectively, will play the first semifinal at 2 p.m., followed by McEnroe, the four-time U.S. Open and three-time Wimbledon champion, against Courier, the two-time French and Australian Open champion.
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The winners will then face off in the championship match to follow.
“The Hawai‘i Tourism Authority is pleased to bring the PowerShares tennis event to Kona this spring,” said Rick Fried, chairman of the Board of the Hawai‘i Tourism Authority. “Hawai‘i is a world-class destination, and we look forward to welcoming world-class tennis legends like John McEnroe and Jim Courier to our state.”
“We are excited to bring PowerShares and tennis greats John McEnroe, Jim Courier, Tommy Haas and Mardy Fish to Hawai‘i for the first time,” said Ron Romano, executive director of the USTA Hawaii Pacific Section. “Visitors and residents will have a unique opportunity to experience great tennis in a fun setting. PowerShares, like the Fed Cup we hosted in 2016 and 2017, is key to the USTA’s mission to promote tennis and HTA’s mission to promote Hawaii as a visitor destination.”
For more information and to purchase these once-in-a-lifetime opportunities, go online.
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