The new tennis courts at the Granville Athletic Park (GAP) have been reserved for the U.S. Tennis Association’s (USTA) “40 and Over” State Championships, June 24 – 26.
Granville County is one of several sites of the Eno River Area Leagues serving as tournament hosts. The League’s host city typically uses 10 to 15 nearby sites for the state championships. For 2021, the City of Durham is serving as host, with their Parks and Recreation Department handling site coordination for each day of the tournament.
Four of the six tennis courts at the GAP have been reserved for these championship matches. It is expected that the tournament will bring tennis enthusiasts from the Eno River area and beyond, as well as sparking additional interest in the game of tennis and the USTA.
“These tennis courts greatly enhance what the county already has in place,” said Betty Lou Davis of the County’s Parks, Greenways and Recreation Advisory Committee and the Oxford Community Tennis Association. “Since they are USTA-sanctioned, we can now attract a broader spectrum of tennis players from outside the county and increase the number of visitors to our area.”
In December of 2019, the USTA and USTA Southern had awarded $70,000 ($50,000 and $20,000 respectively) to assist in the construction of the 78-foot tennis courts as part of the Phase III expansion of the park, with options for play on three 60-foot and four 36-foot courts. Intended use for the newly constructed courts included tournament play for athletic associations and tennis clubs, as well as providing a site for local high school students to practice and play.
In addition to the USTA funding, the Phase III expansion was completed with grants awarded through the Parks and Recreation Trust Fund (PARTF, $300,000) and the Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF, $250,00), adding 11 acres to the already-existing park. The project was completed in April of this year and is now open to the public.
The Granville Athletic Park is located at 4615 Belltown Road in Oxford and is the County’s largest outdoor recreational area.