First Memphis Classic is over, but tourney director already looking forward to next year

Phil Stukenborg | Daily Memphian

Several days before the last ball was struck in Sunday’s championship singles match of the inaugural Memphis Classic at Leftwich Tennis Center, tournament director and Classic producer Sam Duvall was looking ahead.

While the Women’s Tennis Association event was amid its Memphis debut — giving the city professional tennis for the first time since 2017 — Duvall was thinking about Year 2 and how the tournament could become more attractive to the Mid-South fan base.

Year 1’s champion was 16-year-old Kristina Liutova, who posted a 1-6, 6-1, 6-3 victory over Czechia’s Darja Vidmanova in a match that lasted two hours and one minute.

Liutova, from Russia, became the first 16-year-old to win a WTA title in seven years. She improved to 33-4 on the season.

The tournament, a 250-level event on the WTA Tour (the third tier behind 1000s and 500s), relocated to Memphis from Cleveland, Ohio, and is scheduled for at least two more years at Leftwich. Duvall wants the 2027 event to be more accommodating for spectators, especially as it relates to the brutal heat and humidity that can blanket the city in late July and early August.

“Honestly, we’d love to make it more of a night tournament,” Duvall said.

To do so, the tournament would need to install more television broadcast-quality lighting. Duvall brought in temporary upgraded lighting for the main stadium court. The tournament uses three different courts during the week.

“We knew we were going to have a night session, so we were going to (have upgraded lighting) on one court no matter what,” Duvall said.

As he spoke while standing in the ground-floor corridor of the two-level viewing area, Duvall mentioned other possible improvements for next year, including a wider range of ticket prices — possibly a reduced price for those sitting in the sun — and adding food vendors. His staff is considering moving the stadium court to a court closer to the main building to accommodate those using the hospitality areas.

“Overall, I’ve been really happy,” Duvall said. “The first few days are an absolute scramble with a new staff. I’m not from here, so I was trying to meet new people. But I think it came together quite well.”

Duvall said ticket sales were “pretty strong.”

“My comparison would be what we did in Cleveland the last couple of years,” he said. “We did five years there, and I think we’re on par to match what we did the last two years in Cleveland. That’s a big win.”

It’s particularly impressive considering the WTA didn’t approve the tournament’s move to Memphis until March of 2026.

“We knew it was going to get approved, but we really couldn’t do anything until March,” Duvall said.

The ability to have a full year to seek sponsorships and sell ticket packages should benefit the tournament.

“It’s hard to sell on (artist) renderings (of the tournament layout) or ideas,” Duvall said. “You have to get through one year. Now you have photos. And we’ve hosted (potential sponsors) and showed them the space available and what they can do with it.”

Leftwich Tennis Center, a public-private partnership involving the city, the University of Memphis and other donors, was built for $31.5 million and opened at Southern Avenue and Goodlett Street in November 2023. It features 24 outdoor and 12 indoor courts.

“Facility-wise, it’s amazing,” Duvall said. “Players are loving the spaces they have, from the locker rooms, lounge, (ample) practice courts. From that perspective, it’s been awesome.”

Former Georgia Bulldogs NCAA singles champion Vidmanova knocked out the tournament’s marquee entry, Sloane Stephens, in the Round of 16. Vidmanova was happy to extend her stay in Memphis.

“It’s great,” she said. “The center is new, and it’s massive for a college facility. It’s very nice. Everything is well organized. I think it should keep coming back here.”

Memphis Tourism president Kevin Kane, a longtime tennis fan, heard from those seeing the facility for the first time. He said first impressions were positive.

“There’s such an appetite for seeing pro tennis in our market, our region,” Kane said. “I think we’re off to a great start. Everyone I’ve spoken to has really enjoyed themselves, except for the heat. And there’s nothing we could do about that.”

Temperatures rose to near-triple digits early in the week, forcing play to be temporarily halted. Duvall may explore starting matches next year at 4 or 5 p.m., when more courts may be shaded. The event, like all outdoor tournaments, had to deal with several rain delays, including a late-afternoon storm Friday that pushed the feature singles match and following doubles championship deep into the evening.

For 42 consecutive years — from 1976 to 2017 — the city played host to a stop on the Association of Tennis Professionals Tour at The Racquet Club, the East Memphis facility on Sanderlin Road that closed in 2019 and was later razed. A WTA event was added in the early 2000s, but left in 2013.

Known early in its existence as the U.S. National Indoor, the men’s event attracted the top players in the sport from Bjorn Borg, Jimmy Connors, Ivan Lendl and John McEnroe to Pete Sampras, Andre Agassi, Jim Courier and Andy Roddick. Losing pro tennis after such a lengthy run was a shock to some.

Peter Lebedevs, who served as Indoor tournament director from 2008 to 2014, attended the Memphis Classic last week and was impressed with the presentation. Lebedevs flew in from Dallas, where he is tournament director of the Nexo Dallas Open, a 500-level event on the men’s ATP Tour.

“The facility looks amazing; it has great bones,” Lebedevs said. “And the (stadium) court looks great, too. They’ve done a great job.”

Lebedevs said there should be benefits to having hosted the event for the first time to get it in front of potential sponsors.

“When people see the fun and the excitement (a tournament brings to a community), it is hugely important,” Lebedevs said. “The (Memphis Classic officials) are going to be able to go out and find partners who saw the value in it. Before you had to close your eyes and kind of imagine what it would be.”

Duvall and his staff will be busy after Sunday’s event has concluded. His goal is to make every night session in 2027 “a party” while watching world-class women’s tennis.

“We want to learn from this year and get better,” Duvall said. “The goal this week is to let people know this is going to come back next year and to (attract sponsorships) and know this is going to be a good experience.

“The feedback my team has gotten has been really good. But we’ll take the good and the bad, and we’ll sit down afterward and retool some things. But overall, I’ve been pleased.”