You don't need an ATP ranking point to play the Delray Beach Open.
All you need is a dream, a racquet—and to prevail as Survivor in the pre-qualifying tournament.
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The tournament offers a creative path for one player to enter the men’s qualifying event by “surviving" the pre-qualifying tournament. For up-and-coming junior players, college players, aspiring pro players or club champions, it’s a chance to play in the big leagues of pro tennis.
The Delray Beach Open “Survivor” is a UTR Men’s Open event scheduled for November 12-15 at the ProWorld Tennis Academy in Delray Beach and is open to all players.
Participants will receive two complimentary tickets to a day session (date TBA) on opening weekend of the 2023 Delray Beach Open. Players who register for Survivor by October 19 will also receive two VIP Clubhouse Lounge passes that include all-day happy hour with exclusive food and beverage offers. Play that weekend will include both the ATP 250 qualifying tournament as well as action from the tournament’s ATP Champions Tour legends event.
Survivor will be single elimination and matches will use no-ad scoring through two tie-break sets with a 10-point match tie-break at one set all. The Survivor winner will play in the 2023 Delray Beach Open qualifying event February 11-12 at the Delray Beach Stadium and Tennis Center and be afforded the full amenities of an ATP Tour player including complimentary hotel accommodations, transportation, dining, practice courts and fans seeking autographs and selfies.
Four players from the two-round qualifying event will advance to the tournament’s main draw, which will take place February 13-19. The 2022 champion of the ATP 250 event, Cameron Norrie, went on to win another title in Lyon, reach the Wimbledon semifinals and rank among the world’s Top 10 players.
Since 2002, the Delray Beach Open has offered the Survivor wild card opportunity. American Stefan Kozlov was the most recent Survivor winner to reach the main draw in 2020. Building on that success, he reached the quarterfinals this year.
Qualifiers have a history of success at the Delray Beach Open. There have been three winners of the ATP Tour 250 event who first came through qualifying – Ernests Gulbis (2013), Kei Nishikori (2008) and Andrew Ilie (1998). On four other occasions, a qualifier finished as the runner-up, most recently Dan Evans in 2019.
More information about participating in the pre-qualifying Survivor event can be found at https://yellowtennisball.com/Survivor/
Online registration for the November 12-15 USTA event must be completed by 6 p.m. ET on November 7: https://app.universaltennis.com/events/95562
The ProWorld Tennis Academy is located at 651 Egret Circle, Delray Beach, FL 33444
Series and individual tickets for the 2023 Delray Beach Open are on sale now at www.yellowtennisball.com or by phone at +1 561-330-6000.
Photo credit: Andrew Patron