Memphis Classic tournament director on first-year challenges, expectations
Omer Yusuf | Memphis Business Journal
Professional tennis is set to make its long-awaited return to Memphis this weekend.
The Women’s Tennis Association is holding its inaugural Memphis Classic event from July 25 through Aug. 2 at Leftwich Tennis Center.
The 250-level WTA event is the first edition of the tournament under a multiyear deal. The 32-player tournament field is headlined by No. 19 player in the world, Ekaterina Alexandrova.
The Memphis Classic is operated by Topnotch Management, a Cleveland-based sports agency, in partnership with the nonprofit Tennis Memphis. Sam Duvall is president of Topnotch and serves as the Memphis Classic’s tournament director.
Duvall recently spoke to MBJ ahead of the Memphis Classic and discussed various topics including the buildup to this year’s event, expectations, and what this means for Memphis.
The following interview has been edited for brevity and clarity.
MBJ: How has the process gone in terms of preparing for the buildup in the months and now days before the Memphis Classic?
Duvall: [We are] trying to rally support within the community and awareness of the event. We do that in a number of different ways through different ad buys, TV commercials, digital ads. We've got some billboards up around town. For us, the first year is really about showcasing what this [tournament] is.
What are some of the biggest challenges you all have faced given you had only a few months to prepare for the inaugural Memphis Classic?
A lot of it is trying to keep meeting people in the community who care about sports — women's sports and tennis in particular. What I think is really cool about this level of event is we’re going to be televised in nearly 200 countries. It's a great way to showcase what is a great city and a great facility that we're playing at.
How have ticket sales gone and as far as general interest in the Memphis Classic?
I've been really satisfied so far with the support, especially on the ticketing front. We've got some work to do on the partnership front, but I think a lot of folks want to see [the tournament] before committing some significant dollars on the partnership side.
We are bringing in some amazing sponsors like Verizon and Mercedes, and then locally Campbell Clinic has been a huge help. We want to use this year's event to showcase it to the wider business community in hopes that we can get some more partners on board for 2027 and 2028.
What would you view as success for the first year of the Memphis Classic?
Hopefully, the weather cooperates. … Success for me is having people coming here and having a great time. I want people to come up to me and say, ‘What are your dates for next year? We're excited to come back.’ It's a bit of a learning year for us. We know that things are not going to be perfect, like most first-year events are not. We’re going to learn, get better, and make it bigger and better in 2027.