CTC is proud to announce that True Tension Racquet Sports is now the official pro shop sponsor of the CT Tennis Challenge Fairfield Conference.

Tim Trombley, owner and Master Racquet Technician would like to invite all CTC players to come in to check out his new shop at 177 Post Rd in Westport (at the former Carimbo Sports) and drop off racquets for restringing.  Telephone 203-226-3361 or e-mail:   timmy10s@hotmail.com.

Tim is a Certified Master Racquet Technician and current USRSA member with more than 10 years stringing and pro shop experience including management of 2 other tennis stores.  Tim has strung for pros such as Thomas Johansson, Pete Sampras, Mark Phillippousis, Mardy Fish, Tommy Rebredo and John Isner at the Pilot Pen and Hall of Fame tournaments. 

Tim played division 2 college tennis at Bentley and currently teaches tennis at Norwalk Fitness & Tennis.

Tim will hand out free CTC water bottles (10pt prize) to the first 100 current or new CTC players who visit the shop and will offer tennis apparel and equip specials for all CTC players who drop in.

In addition to being a pickup point for CTC water bottles and the 25pt CTC T-shirt (due by mid June), True Tension is also sponsoring the following CTC prizes for Fairfield Conference players:

50pt  prize - $25 gift voucher, e-mailed by CTC
100pt prize - $50 gift voucher, e-mailed by CTC
Fairfield Conference Finalist and Champions prizes
State Championship Finalist and Champions prizes won by Fairfield Conference players

Drop in to give Tim best wishes for his new shop, thanks for sponsoring our league and  business as loyal customers in gratitude for supporting the growth of CTC and tennis in Fairfield County.

World No. 11 Marion Bartoli, a finalist at Wimbledon last year, has become the third player to commit to the Pilot Pen.   
 
Bartoli, who joins 2007 Pilot Pen finalists Agnes Szavay and Mardy Fish as players committed early to the event, began to leave her mark on the Tour in 2006 when she collected three titles at Auckland, Tokyo and Quebec City. She cemented her position as one of the game's elite players last year by defeating World No. 1 Justine Henin en route to the Wimbledon finals, reaching the finals of Prague and the semifinals of five other tournaments, and reaching a career-high ranking of No. 9 in the world.
 

CTC's World TeamTennis Rec League: May 19 - June 30.

Teams now forming.

Seeking captains and players at all levels to form new teams: e-mail Debby Dutton at wttleague@tenniscircuit.com

Have fun and make new friends playing the exciting WTT format!

• Co-ed Teams 2 men, 2 women minimum
• Min 4, max 8 players per team
• Divisions: 3.5, 4.0 and 4.5
• Singles, Doubles, Mixed, WTT Format
• Top teams play WTT National Qualifiers

Just $20 per player or $100 team fee.

All players must join a team roster to compete.

I would like to announce that Debby Dutton will coordinate CTC's Recreational World Team Tennis league taking over for me as family, career and CTC require more of my attention.

Debby has been a player in the Connecticut Tennis Circuit Challenge and WTT leagues since 2001.  Debby has agreed to partner with me to continue to offer and run the WTT Rec leagues under the CTC banner and web site at tenniscircuit.com.

Debby and her husband Joseph Sherman are exceptional tennis friends to whom I owe endless thanks.  The CT tennis community and CTC in particular, are fortunate to have them in and on our courts.

Debby has also recently become district coordinator for USTA Team Tennis - a role that will undoubtedly provide synergy between competitive USTA and recreational WTT team tennis offerings in Connecticut.

Both Debby and I are looking forward to a fun-filled WTT season this spring and the continued growth of tennis in Connecticut.

Please congratulate Debby and give her your full support!

Teams are forming now for the 2008 CTC World Team Tennis season which runs May 19 - June 30. 

Email Debby at ctc@playWTT.com to start a team or join one.


Robert A. Wright
Connecticut Tennis Circuit

Szavay, ranked 13th in the world, played nine matches in eight days last year and reached the final before a back injury forced her to retire against second-ranked Svetlana Kuznetsova.

Szavay is the first woman to commit to the 2008 Pilot Pen.

"She had an amazing run [last year]," tournament director Anne Worcester said. "The Pilot Pen takes great pride in the fact that [this] always seems to be a tournament where rising stars and up-and-comers seem to make their initial mark and grab the world's attention. There have been several rising stars that have had a breakthrough event here. We're delighted that the Pilot Pen was a bit of a breakthrough for Agnes."

After New Haven, Szavay reached the quarterfinals in the US Open, upsetting No. 7 Nadia Petrova. She later won in Beijing, upsetting No. 3 Jelena Jankovic in the final.

Szavay, 19, finished the year No. 20 in the world after ending 2006 at No. 189. She was named Sony Ericsson WTA Tour Newcomer of the Year last year and she points to New Haven as the tournament that propelled her.

"I think it was a great tournament," Szavay said. "It was a really good week in my life. ... I'm really happy I could win the whole week and I'm really sorry I couldn't finish the final."

This year, Szavay lost to sixth-ranked Anna Chakvetadze in the final in Paris and reached the quarterfinals in Amelia Island, Fla., last week.

Tickets are available by calling 888-997-4568 or 203-776-7331 or visiting

www.pilotpentennis.com.