As the sun began to set last Tuesday night, the courts lit up with excitement as 16 players served up the first round in the 22nd annual King of the Hill Tennis Tournament at The Moorings Yacht and Country Club to benefit the Youth Guidance Mentoring Academy.
Each year local tennis professionals compete in the six-week round-robin tournament, ultimately vying to be crowned King of the Hill at the final match on Feb. 21. The tournament winner and runner-up will also receive a main-draw doubles wild card into the Mardy Fish Children’s Foundation Tennis Championships U.S. Tennis Association (USTA) Pro Circuit Futures tournament, to be held April 21-30 at the Grand Harbor Golf & Beach Club.
Proceeds from King of the Hill tournaments help fund the Youth Guidance Mentoring Academy, which provides group and one-to-one mentoring programs for children from low-income, single-parent homes in an effort to break the cycle of poverty and help them forge a different life path. Youth Guidance has been mentoring children for the past 44 years, annually reaching 300 children through 10,000 mentorship hours.
Youth Guidance recently introduced a new sports mentoring program at the Intergenerational Recreation Center; transportation is provided there from Indian River Academy and Citrus Elementary School. Students participate in sports, dance and tumbling, a certified math instructor is on hand, and they also receive dinner.
“King of the Hill has become a cornerstone of our funding. We do not receive any state or federal funds, as we are completely funded by local dollars including foundations, grants and fundraisers,” explained Doug Borrie, Youth Guidance executive director.
“King of the Hill is a local tradition. It takes a tremendous amount of planning and work to make it happen, but every year it is a crowd favorite. The players provide us with top-notch professional tennis as they vie to become King of the Hill. We owe a tremendous amount of gratitude to our sponsors, guests, the Moorings, the players and most of all Gigi Casapu.”
The tournament is dedicated to the memory Johnny Casapu, brother of tournament organizer Gigi Casapu. Johnny Casapu, a world-class tennis professional, died 20 years ago in a car accident while visiting Romania and Gigi Casapu continues to honor him by combining Johnny’s two passions – tennis and helping children.
The King of the Hill tournament will continue at 6 p.m. each Tuesday through Feb. 21. For more information visit YouthGuidanceProgram.org.
