Competing for a cause at the Battle of the Boroughs Tennis Challenge

Get your rackets and shoes ready for the inaugural Battle of the Boroughs Tennis Challenge!

Tennis players aged 19 and up are invited to register for the adult recreational tournaments, which will be held in May and early June, one for each borough.

The Brooklyn Challenge will be held on Saturday, June 1, in Prospect Park.

The citywide Battle of the Boroughs championship challenge will be in Queens’s Flushing Meadows Park on Saturday, June 15, inside the U.S. Tennis Association’s (USTA) Billie Jean King National Tennis Center.

However, this isn’t an ordinary tennis tournament to build community spirit. The fun is also serving as a fundraiser for the City Parks Foundation‘s (CPF) free youth tennis programs.

Registration costs $20 per person/adult and proceeds go towards funding the youth tennis programs.

The event is the result of a partnership between the USTA and CPF.

“We are so excited about the Battle of the Boroughs Tennis Challenge,” said Jenny Schnitzer, Assistant Executive Director of USTA Eastern. “The event will showcase some of the best adult tennis players in New York City’s parks, and help create opportunities for children of all ages to learn the sport of a lifetime.”

The popularity of tennis in the city doesn’t always continue beyond casual games with friends in the park, noted Mike Silverman, CPF’s director of sports. That is why the Battle of the Boroughs Tennis Challenge is so exciting,” he said.

“This inaugural event helps bring together players from all over Brooklyn and NYC in a fun, coed team competition that will crown a borough-wide and ultimately, citywide parks champion,” Silverman said. “In addition, proceeds from the entry fees will support CPF’s free youth tennis program, which reaches 7,000 children with free lessons at 38 citywide parks annually. It should be exciting for both players and spectators alike.  We hope this will grow into an exciting annual event for both players and spectators.”

To learn more and to register for the Battle of the Boroughs Tennis Challenge, visit http://eastern.usta.com/boroughs.