KENTUCKY TENNIS HISTORY - A MOMENT IN TIME History was made at the 1996 Fifth Third Bank Lexington Challenger Tournament. Director Dennis Emery received a call from his good friend Nick Bolletieri about a main draw wild card for his 18-year-old protege Tommy Haas. Emery didn’t have the main draw wild card but convinced Bolletieri to have Haas play qualifiers on a wild card and get great housing for their group at a Lexington horse farm. Haas qualified and in the first round upset 90th ranked top seed Grant Stafford in the first round 6-2, 3-6, 6-3. Haas lost second round of the event, but a star was born. This was the professional debut for Haas who went on to be ranked number two in the world and was top ten for years. His long professional career started here in Kentucky! Don’t miss your chance to see other raising tennis stars this week at the Lexington Open @Lexington Open! Dennis Emery - contributor #kytennishistory (fb)

KENTUCKY TENNIS HISTORY - A MOMENT IN TIME In 2016 a young Francis Tiafoe came to Lexington for the Kentucky Bank Tennis Championships (now the Lexington Open - playing this week!). Seeded at number seven, the 19-year-old Tiafoe would reach the final where he lost a heartbreaker to Ernesto Escobedo 6-2, 6-7, 7-6. In the first round Tiafoe, who would become a top ten player but was ranked 162 going into this tournament, faced another future top ten player in unseeded Tommy Paul. Tiafoe won 6-3, 6-1. Tiafoe would reach the US Open semifinals in 2022 and 2024 and has earned 15 million dollars in his career. Professionally Lexington was a huge piece of his career jump start. Dennis Emery - contributor #kytennishistory (fb)