Tennis’s Other US Open

Long Beach, NY — The 2009 Beach Tennis USA National Championship produced two days of exciting, fast-paced action. For the first time ever, the National Championship in the United States featured a “Paddle Battle” in addition to the regular racquet competition. On Saturday, September 5, teams from all over the world competed using paddles and to no one’s surprise, the Europeans were the teams to beat in this tournament.

In the Men’s Pro Paddle division, it was two Italian teams that would square off: Gian Luca Chirico and Massimo Matei (Ravenna, IT) versus Maurizio DiCori and Emanuele Bianchedi (Ravenna, IT). Both teams are very familiar with the sport of beach tennis, having competed in over 100 tournaments in Italy, combined. Although DiCori and Bianchedi were new-comers to American sand, it was no detriment to their game, as they defeated Chirico and Matei 8-5. Over on the Ladies Pro Division, the finals match consisted of two Southern California teams, Lee Whitwell and Joslynn Burkett (San Diego, CA) versus Lucy Streeter and Kristen Flagler (Hermosa Beach, CA). Flagler and Streeter knocked out Nadia Johnston (Long Beach, NY) and Nicole Melch (Cresskill, NJ) in the semi-finals to advance, however they were no match for the duo from San Diego as they easily captured the first Paddle Battle title by a score of 8-4.

Sunday, September 6, featured the tennis racquet version of the 2009 Beach Tennis USA National Championship. Both the Men’s and Ladies Pro Division finals matches will go down in history. In the Men’s Pro Division, the two-time defending champions Matteo Marighella and Alex Mingozzi (Ravenna, IT) advanced to the finals match to face off against the team representing the United States, Chris Henderson and Phil Whitesell (Charleston, SC). Henderson and Whitesell, the 2005 and 2006 Beach Tennis National Champions, were eager to defeat the Italians and bring the title back to the US in a finals match that was a rematch of the 2008 National Championship, also in Long Beach, NY. In dramatic fashion, the pair of Americans stunned the crowd as they delivered powerful serves, which was enough to defeat the seemingly unbeatable Italian team, 8-6. In the Ladies Pro Division, it was the duo from San Diego, CA yet again who would advance to the finals. Lee Whitwell and Joslynn Burkett would face the hometown hero, Nadia Johnston, and her partner, Nicole Melch, who have been unstoppable in the tournaments in which they competed this season. The only thing fiercer than competition was the wind that made it very difficult to serve the ball. But the Ladies battle through and seemed to be on par since a tiebreaker set was necessary. The San Diego team proved to be too much for Melch and Johnston as they gained and maintained momentum in the tiebreaker set to win it, 9-8(5). Whitwell and Burkett cleaned up in Long Beach, NY, winning both the Paddle Battle finals and the 2009 Beach Tennis National Championship.