The ATP professional men’s tennis tour is coming to South Dakota for the first time Oct. 20-27 when Huether Family Match Pointe on the Sanford Sports Complex hosts the MarketBeat Open presented by USTA Northern.
“We are incredibly excited to help bring this first-of-its-kind tennis tournament to Sioux Falls,” said MarketBeat Founder and CEO Matt Paulson. “We think this event will elevate the visibility of Sioux Falls on the national stage and bring additional tourism revenue to the city.”
USTA Northern, which played a role in bringing the tour to Sioux Falls, is also excited to help fill the void of professional tennis in the upper Midwest.
“We are thrilled to have professional tennis returning to the USTA Northern Section for the first time in over 10 years,” said USTA Northern Executive Director Becky Cantellano. “The players that will be coming to Sioux Falls are future stars of the ATP Tour and this event is an incredible opportunity for tennis fans to see unbelievable matches up close in person.”
The Sanford Sports Complex has become very familiar with hosting marquee sporting events, including multiple Top 25 Division I men’s and women’s basketball matchups, and adding a professional tennis tournament provides even more entertainment options on the campus.
“Congratulations to Huether Family Match Pointe on this monumental announcement,” said Steve Young, president of Sanford Sports. “The Sanford Sports Complex is honored to welcome the ATP and tennis fans to our campus, where they’ll be able to eat, stay and play all within a short walk. Our first-class facilities, especially the new four-court addition at Match Pointe, are an immense point of pride, and we are excited to put them on display for a national audience.”
Australian Open wild card draw
The MarketBeat Open, an ATP 75 event, will bring some of the best players in the world to Sioux Falls this fall for a tournament that has added importance on the ATP Tour calendar. The USTA Pro Circuit is using a four-tournament swing this fall after which the American with the highest ranking point total will earn the United States’ wild card into the 2025 Australian Open main draw which has tournament organizers anticipating a strong field. The MarketBeat Open will be tournament 1 of 4 for the Australian Open wild card.
“The added Australian Open wild card tie in is really exciting and should draw a lot of the top American players,” said Tournament Director and Match Pointe Executive Director Mark Vellek. “This is an unprecedented event for this part of the country and is going to be amazing to showcase in Sioux Falls.”
The MarketBeat Open will have a 32-player singles draw as well as a 16-team doubles draw. There will also be a 16-player singles qualifying tournament at the beginning of the week from which four players will earn main draw qualifier spots.
Match Pointe will turn two of its 10 courts into stadium show courts on which the entire tournament will be played. Given the size of the venue, fans will have a unique opportunity of getting a courtside view of all the action.
“One of the unique challenges of holding this event is turning our facility into something it’s not on a day-to-day basis,” Vellek said. “There won’t be a bad seat in the house, and everyone will have an incredible up-close seat to the action. One of our primary goals of this event is to have the players that are competing engage in the community as much as possible. This is going to be a special week.”
Tournament players and tickets
Day one of the MarketBeat Open will be Kids Day which will give kids 18 and under free admission.
The tournament has one wild card position into the singles main draw and one into the doubles draw which it will award in the fall. Organizers also get one wild card to give into the singles qualifying draw. The qualifying wild card will be awarded to the South Dakota Adult Open men’s open singles champion, which will be held July 19-21 in Sioux Falls.
“The qualifying wild card presented a unique opportunity to have a local tie in,” Vellek said. “The South Dakota Adult Open is a long-standing amateur tournament here and has really taken off the past few years with increased prize money so the winner of that tournament each year is certainly the caliber of player worthy of having an opportunity to compete in the qualifying.”
The South Dakota Adult Open is run by the Sioux Falls Tennis Association (SFTA) which is looking forward to adding even more to its July event.
“The SFTA is excited that the MarketBeat Open has granted its qualifying wild card to our men’s open singles champion this summer,” said SFTA Board President Thomas Chiu. “Over the past 5 years the SD Adult Open has doubled in prize money and draw size. This wild card will provide the winner with a great opportunity to showcase himself against the next level of competition.”
The player field will be determined 21 days ahead of the start of the event. Tickets for the MarketBeat Open will go on sale Aug. 26, which is the first day of the U.S. Open. Sponsorships are on sale now. For sponsorship information, contact Mark Vellek at mark@playthepointe.com.
Tournament schedule
Oct. 20 – Singles Qualifying
Oct. 21 – Singles Qualifying/Singles First Round
Oct. 22 – Singles First Round/Doubles First Round
Oct.r 23 – Singles Round of 16/Doubles First Round
Oct. 24 – Singles Round of 16/Doubles Quarterfinals
Oct. 25 – Singles Quarterfinals/Doubles Semifinals
Oct. 26 – Singles Semifinals/Doubles Championship
Oct. 27 – Singles Championship
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Posted In News, Sanford Sports, Sioux Falls
