Stanford Tennis Championships to be held at SMU

by Monica Dutia

DALLAS — InsideOut Sports & Entertainment announced yesterday that Southern Methodist University’s (SMU) Turpin Tennis Stadium will be the new location for the Stanford Championships, the biggest professional tennis event in Dallas.

The Stanford Championships October 22-26 and will be one of the eight events on the 2008 Outback Champions Series. The tournament features the greatest names in tennis on the international circuit—all over the age of 30.

Jim Courier, Todd Martin, Mark Philippoussis, and Wayne Ferreira are the first confirmed players for the tournament. Ferreira will return as the defending champion, having defeated Courier in the 2007 final played at the Dr. Pepper StarCenter. To be eligible to compete in the Ourback Series, players must have reached at least a major singles final, been ranked in the top five in the world, or played singles on a championship Davis Cup team.

One reason the tournament moved from the Dr. Pepper StarCenter to SMU for accessibility purposes.

“We had our sights set to be a little more central,” said Courier, former world No. 1 and Hall of Fame tennis player and co-founding partner of InsideOut Sports & Entertainment and the Outback Champions Series. “I think this is a huge opportunity to set up a fantastic new tradition [at SMU]. I can’t tell you how thrilled I am to bring tennis back here.”

The Outback Champions Series kicked off March 12-16 in Naples, Florida. It was followed by events in the Grand Cayman Islands and Boston. The next five stops are in Newport, R.I.; Charlotte, N.C.; Dallas; Surprise, A.Z. and Dubai, United Arab Emirates.

Courier, who visited SMU as a student but instead chose to play tennis professionally, said he is looking forward to being back on campus since he missed his “college experience.”

“I’m here to make up for it, enrich myself, and get the college experience I didn’t get before,” Courier said.

Part of the tournament is Kids Day where those under 18 can participate in a free tennis clinic with some of the Champions. Free ticket vouchers will be provided for the first 100 kids.