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Former Top Pros Compete in the 2011 Colorado Open

Jan-Michael Gambill and Taylor Dent

Taylor, who just recently retired, was ranked as high as 21 in the world in 2005 and Jan-Michael, who retired a couple of years ago, had a career high ranking of 14 in the world in 2001. Both have had great success at all of the grand slam tournaments and are winners of major ATP tournaments. Also of note, in 2000 Jan-Michael was voted one of People's "Most Beautiful People." Not only did people have a chance to see them play, but also were able to play with them. Both Taylor and Jan-Michael hostrf several Pro-Ams, Clinics, Meet & Greets in the Grey Goose Lounge and other fun activities. To learn more about these fun activities see the following two flyers: Pro-Ams and Package Opportunities.

More than just a tennis tournament!

The Colorado State Open is a celebration of tennis

The Colorado State Open is one of the oldest and biggest tournaments in the country. First played in 1891, it boasts past champions such as former #1 in the world players Don Budge and Althea Gibson. Check-out the prestigious list of Former Men's Champions and Former Women's Champions. Today, with the prize money more than tripled from five years ago, players again are coming in from all over the country to compete, providing the Rocky Mountain Region excellent live tennis. (See Distribution of the $25,000 Purse) In addition to providing great live tennis to watch, it's a great tournament to play in as well. Over 1200 players compete in over 60 different events each year. Block out ten days in mid-September each year to be part of the buzz and experience that is the Colorado State Open. To learn more about the 2011 Colorado State Open, check-out the 2011 Colorado State Open Commercial.

A Big Thanks to Our Sponsors!

Support this great event and promote your business.

We could not bring top level tennis to Colorado without our great family of sponsors. The 2011 Colorado State Open offerred over four times the prize money from just five years ago, $6000 in 2006 to $25,000 in 2011 and we are looking to up that even more in 2012. The Colorado State Open is dedicated to bringing great national and international tennis to Colorado, but it takes sponsors and organizations to help make this happen. Have your business or organization join our incredible family of sponsors and be recognized in the tennis community as a company that supports bringing top level tennis to Colorado. To learn more review our Sponsorship Deck.

The Flying Californian Wins the Men's 2011 Open Singles

The Biggest and the Best Year Yet!

This year's Colorado State Open boasted many firsts in it's 120-year history. With 1477 entries and over 950 participants in 62 divisions, this Open was the largest to date. By itself, the men's 4.5 singles division had 120 participants! Players ranging from 3.0-5.0 NTRP levels and 35 to 80 and over age divisions battled it out over the 10-day tournament, and despite three nights of rain, the spirit of play was never dampened.

Prior to the start of the State Open, the talk of the tournament was the presence of the two former ATP Tour players, Jan-Michael Gambill, former #14 in the world, and Taylor Dent, former #21 in the world. Spectators flocked to see these stars play, but what no one expected was the unorthodox jump serve of Brian Battistone to capture the attention of the fans. With his two-handled racquet and volleyball-inspired serve, scores of people congregated to see his unique game. Battistone not only treated the crowd to a show, but also scored major victories over former pros Paul Goldstein, former #58 in the world, Dent, and Gambill, defeating Gambill in the final to take the Men's Open Singles Title and the $4000 prize money. In addition to the strong men's line-up, the Women's Open Division featured Alexa Glatch, current #151 in the world, and Vasalisa Bardina, former top 50 in the world player, contending for the Women's Singles Title. Glatch was victorious, but injured her back and could not compete in the finals of the Mixed Open Doubles championship, defaulting to Jackie and Reid Carleton. Bardina redeemed herself in the Women's Open Doubles final by taking the title for the second year in a row with her partner, Lauren Strasburger. Dent and Gambill did come away from the Open with a Title, winning the Men's Open Doubles over Paul Goldstein and Jeff Loehr.

The support of Safeway, the first-ever title sponsor for the Colorado State Open, and all of the other sponsors, made it possible to attract these high-level players to the tournament. With over 10,000 spectators enjoying hundreds of hours of tennis, we are happy to announce that this was the highest-selling year for ticket sales on record, which benefits the Tennis for Kids program, an outreach program that provides tennis to kids who could not otherwise afford tennis programming If you missed this year's tournament, be sure to get on our email list so you are in on all of the action for next year! Please call Gates tennis center at 303-355-4461 for more information!