A.V. Symington Tennis Center Hosts Annual Cup Tournament

The A.V. Symington Tennis Center, located at Leesburg’s Ida Lee Park, hosted the 4th annual Leesburg Cup Tennis Tournament on Sept. 16 to 18.

The Leesburg Cup is an invitational team tournament for senior players, ages 50 and over, from the Middleburg Tennis Club, Chestnut Forks Athletic Club and A. V. Symington Tennis Center. The Leesburg Cup is part of an annual tournament series hosted by each club.

“We have a total of 14 players from each club,” said Ida Lee’s Head Tennis Professional Moses Gittens. The breakdown includes one men/women single, two men/women doubles and two mix doubles. “Each team play’s a total of 16 matches and the winner with the most matches won takes home the Cup.”

Gittens said the Leesburg Cup tournament competition has improved each year, and this year's event came down to the last match last Sunday to determine the winner. Middleburg Tennis Club won three out of five matches on Sunday to take the Cup. This was their first win since the event returned to Leesburg in 2008. Prior to that, the event was hosted by the Loudoun Sport and Health Club.

According to Gittens, any player from one of the three clubs can participate in the tournament based on the final decision of the team captain. Gittens said this year’s playing level was “amazing” and for the first time there were two club pros who participated in the event.

“That says something about the level of play. The competition has gotten better in the past two years in part because I have some great fifty and over players to choose from,” Gittens said. “We have a bigger pool of players in Leesburg to pull from. The other clubs do not retain players as well as we do but they are catching up and it shows.”

Although he didn’t win the cup, Gittens said he was happy to see the level of play and that the camaraderie amounts the players.

“It was like old times,” Gittens said. “That was my vision when I brought the event back to Leesburg.”