Tennis fans made their way to the Vero Beach Tennis & Fitness Club at Timber Ridge to watch up-and-coming tennis professionals compete in the 30th anniversary of the Mardy Fish Children’s Foundation Tennis Championships.
The $15,000 U.S. Tennis Association Pro Circuit tournament, which is part of the International Tennis Federation World Tennis Tour, is an entry-level pro tennis competition. It was founded by the late Mike Rahaley in 1995, who passed its management to the MFCF in 2016.
“They all have a story. These are some of the most talented young players in the world and they’re all really nice kids,” said Mardy’s father Tom Fish, board president and co-tournament director.
In the end, British-born Blu Baker, who resides in Boca Raton, defeated fellow Boca resident William Grant to win the 2025 Championships. The ITF World Tennis Tour title is the second for Baker, who is currently the 41st ranked British man in the ATP Tour singles.
In the doubles, Peter Bertran of the Dominican Republic and Jesse Flores of Costa Rica defeated teenaged wild-card entrants Jack Kennedy from Huntington, N.Y., and Keaton Hance, from Torrance, Calif., two of America’s best junior players.
The week-long event is the largest fundraiser for the nonprofit Mardy Fish Children’s Foundation, which provides more than 2,000 local at-risk children with access to afterschool and summer activities that promote exercise, nutrition and enrichment. The organization was founded in 2007 by Mardy Fish, who grew up in Vero Beach and was a former top 10 tennis star, U.S. Davis Cup hero and Olympic silver medalist.
Locals came out in force to watch some of their own hometown pros play. Orchid Island pro Sam Sippel and Yohann Prinsen of Vero Club Tennis earned the chance to compete with their finishes at the King of the Hill tournament. That event had benefited the Youth Guidance Mentoring Academy, one of the many nonprofits supported by the MFCF.
Youth Guidance representatives were among the many nonprofits on hand throughout the week to highlight their programs. Others included Crossover Mission, Indian River Golf Foundation, Pro Sport All Star Cheerleaders, Environmental Learning Center, Treasure Coast Elementary Track Team and TCE School Garden Club, Sherwood Farm Equestrian, Sebastian River High School Cheerleading, Rotary Clubs Kids’ Triathlon, Laura (Riding) Jackson Foundation, Apex Empire Cheerleading, Storm Grove Middle School Chorus and the Indian River County Sheriff’s Office Explorers.
For more information, visit MardyFishChildrensFoundation.org.
Photos by Joshua Kodis
