USA tennis vacation - Where??

Im think of travelling to some place warm in the US to play and play with other rec player at 4.5 to 5.5 level as well as play open and USTA (if possible) tournaments every week for about a month. My plan is also to supplement this with paid lessons/training from/with local high level players (ie 6.0-6.5). I dont mind travelling 500-1000 miles to the next tournament, this would also give me a chance to see different areas/states of the US.

I would be going around mid november.

Advice is greatly appreciated!

So-Cal or So-Florida most likely.

GRANITECHIEF said:

So-Cal or So-Florida most likely.

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Can u be more specific? How would i go about finding suitable tournaments or where to find player of my own level who whould be interested in playing several hours a day, during the day?

peoplespeace said:

Can u be more specific? How would i go about finding suitable tournaments or where to find player of my own level who whould be interested in playing several hours a day, during the day?

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Go on the USTA site and do some tournament searches.

mikeler said:

Go on the USTA site and do some tournament searches.

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Dn u know if i can play regular eg 5.0 USTA tournaments right off the plane or do i need a license first or something?

peoplespeace said:

Dn u know if i can play regular eg 5.0 USTA tournaments right off the plane or do i need a license first or something?

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You can sign up for 5.0 right away since the USTA uses a self rate system at first.

You can usually find an open tournament somewhere in FL every weekend. Heck, if you just stayed in SF, you could probably play an open every weekend. Open's will have larger draws. 5.0 are usually very small draws.

mikeler said:

You can sign up for 5.0 right away since the USTA uses a self rate system at first.

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That sounds awesome! Even if im not a Yankee, nor green card or voting card holder? All i have is a pair of stars n stripes speedos!

ssgator80 said:

You can usually find an open tournament somewhere in FL every weekend. Heck, if you just stayed in SF, you could probably play an open every weekend. Open's will have larger draws. 5.0 are usually very small draws.

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That sounds really great, i hear that SF is a great city even if ur not homosexual or bicurious Do u think that it would be easy to find players at my own level to play with during the week? And how would u go about that? Go to the club/courts where the next tournament is held or just try my luck at some public courts? How is the weather in SF now? Fally?

South Florida gives you the most tennis options and warm ocean temperatures compared to California. Although it is one of my favorite places, the Florida Panhandle, aka "Redneck Riviera" , can get downright cold in November. Weather is Texas can be quite inhospitable at that time of year, too.

That sounds really great, i hear that SF is a great city even if ur not homosexual or bicurious

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Sorry - that is SF - South Florida - not San Francisco. So your Speedos will do just great there also

gavna said:

For November Florida, Texas and California are your best bets.......just look over the USTA website as mentioned before......in each area you will find weekly events and tons of players.

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If all else was equal i would probably choose "the south"/Texas as i have never been to "redneck" country (no offense intended, really!) and think that could be fun. I have been to both the east and west coast.

Chotobaka said:

South Florida gives you the most tennis options and warm ocean temperatures compared to California. Although it is one of my favorite places, the Florida Panhandle, aka "Redneck Riviera" , can get downright cold in November. Weather is Texas can be quite inhospitable at that time of year, too.

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OK ic!

Redneck Riviera lol

Im a bit confused though, are u saying that the Florida Panhandle (dont know if that means the whole of Florida?!) is differet from SF or are u saying that even SF can get cold in November?? And inhospitable Texas weather in Nov. that means cold right?

So no guarantee of nice warm tennis weather in Nov/dec anywhere?

ssgator80 said:

Sorry - that is SF - South Florida - not San Francisco. So your Speedos will do just great there also

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Ahh ok, i was indeed thinking of San Francisco!

Florida, anywhere in southern Florida. Ft. Lauderdale, Miami, Tampa Bay etc. Tons of tennis centers, players, coaches, academies etc all fairly close to each other and lots of tournaments.

It'll save you money traveling all over and Florida is cheaper then California by a fair bit.

gavna said:

Redneck Riviera is the Panhandle of Florida - Pensacola, Pamana City, Ft Walton, Destin...etc. BUT most all of Florida is pretty "redneck" - anything north of Orlando and its not much different than Alabama or Georgia its all deep south.

The large cities like Tampa, Miami, Ft Laurderdale...etc full of transplants and snowbirds from the North and all over latin America and have a different vibe......

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The old saying about Florida: "the farther north you go, the farther south you get". I do truly love the Panhandle though -- Cola to Cola (Apalachicola to Pensacola). We try to get there once a year, basing ourselves in Destin. In a way it is like the inbred child of California and the Deep South. Heck, Destin gets TV signal straight from Mobile, AL.

For the OP, be sure to do some research into tennis in and around Boca Raton.

gavna said:

Redneck Riviera is the Panhandle of Florida - Pensacola, Pamana City, Ft Walton, Destin...etc. BUT most all of Florida is pretty "redneck" - anything north of Orlando and its not much different than Alabama or Georgia its all deep south.

The large cities like Tampa, Miami, Ft Laurderdale...etc full of transplants and snowbirds from the North and all over latin America and have a different vibe......

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Ok intere!sting, tx for the insights!

gavna said:

As for Texas in November the best place for Tennis would be in the Hill Country - Austin, San Antonio - weather still nice ( can start to get chilly) but for the most part you can have lots of days where it can hit well above 70s (20+c). also warm in Corpus Christi region with again lots and lots of Tennis events across the state.

Check out New Braunfels - where Newks is - lots of adult clinics -

Where it gets cold would be North Texas like Dallas and out west in Amarillo, Lubbock....by mid November down right brutal

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Excellent detailed info! Im gonna have a hard time choosing between SF and Texas. Maybe ill do both! I really wanna see if i can get there in time for election day, could be quite fun, i guess that these places would be mostly pro Romney, right?

tennis_balla said:

Florida, anywhere in southern Florida. Ft. Lauderdale, Miami, Tampa Bay etc. Tons of tennis centers, players, coaches, academies etc all fairly close to each other and lots of tournaments.

It'll save you money traveling all over and Florida is cheaper then California by a fair bit.

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I must say that sounds really awesome! U think that id be able to find clinics every week with 5.0 players? Im still not sure how i would go about finding other rec players to play with, do people prefer to play with their regular partners? Maybe meeting local players at open or 5.0 usta tourneys?

Chotobaka said:

The old saying about Florida: "the farther north you go, the farther south you get". I do truly love the Panhandle though -- Cola to Cola (Apalachicola to Pensacola). We try to get there once a year, basing ourselves in Destin. In a way it is like the inbred child of California and the Deep South. Heck, Destin gets TV signal straight from Mobile, AL.

For the OP, be sure to do some research into tennis in and around Boca Raton.

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"The inbred child of Cal and the deep south" - sounds like the beginning of a horror movie! :twisted: I definetely wanna experience those places and culture - there are other people than retirees in those towns right?!

Ill make sure i do some research on the Boca Raton area! I really need to go on googlemaps now!

These are the tourneys in Florida starting (and finishing?!) on the 11th of Nov that i could find on the USTA website. None seem to be open level but i cant really say for sure. Only the ones in Tampa and Miami mention ntrp level, i dont know if one of those might be relevant? And what does Level 7 mean? Advice is greatly appreciated!

11/10/2012 Sunrise Tennis Club Local (Level 7) - 150012512
SUNRISE TENNIS CLUB
Ranked: BG(18-16)s,FMLC
Surface Type: Clay
Sunrise, FL 11/07/2012 11:59 PM(Eastern Time)


11/10/2012 Jonesville November Super Series (Level 6) - 150017912
Jonesville Tennis Center
BG(18-12)s,SE; G(18-12)d,SE; BG(10 (60'Court/Orange Ball) )sd,FMLC
Surface Type: Clay
Gainesville, FL

11/10/2012 Saddlebrook Sports Local (Level 7) - 150023912
Saddlebrook Resort
BG(18-12)s,FMLC
Surface Type: Clay
Wesley Chapel,

11/10/2012 HCC NTRP Turkey Bird Classic - 150037012
HCC Tennis Complex
NM(3.0-5.0)sd,FMLC; NW(2.5-4.5)sd,FMLC
Surface Type: Hard
Tampa, FL [/B]11/10/2012 Longwood Local Cup (Level 7) - 150043912

Longwood Athletic Club
BG(18-12)s,FMLC; BG(10 (60'Court/Orange Ball) )s,FMLC
Surface Type: Clay
Sarasota, FL


11/10/2012 Broward Local Championships at Coral Springs 11 & Under (Level 7) - 150055012
Tennis Center of Coral Springs
BG(12)s,FMLC
Surface Type: UNKNOWN
Last updated: Wed 10/31/2012 4:36 PM (Eastern Time) Coral Springs, FL 11/07/2012 11:59 PM(Eastern Time)
Register Online

11/10/2012 Local Junior Fall Fest (Level 7) - 150569912
Fort Gatlin Recreation Center
BG(18-12)s,FMLC; BG(10 (60'Court/Orange Ball) )s,FMLC
Surface Type: Hard
Orlando, FL 11/07/2012 11:59 PM(Eastern Time)
Register Online

11/10/2012 Broward Local Championships at Coral Springs (Level 7) - 150776112
The Tennis Center of Coral Springs
BG(14-12)s,FMLC; BG(10 (60'Court/Orange Ball) )s,FMLC
Surface Type: Clay, Hard
Last updated: Wed 10/31/2012 4:36 PM (Eastern Time) Coral Springs, FL 11/07/2012 11:59 PM(Eastern Time)
Register Online

11/10/2012 Extreme Tennis Academy Local ITF Warm-Up (Level 7) - 150803312
Extreme Tennis Academy
BG(18-16)s,FMLC
Surface Type: Clay, Hard
North Miami Beach, FL 11/07/2012 11:59 PM(Eastern Time)
Register Online

11/10/2012 NTRP Cup Classic - 150900712
Heinser Tennis Academy
NM(3.0-5.0)s,FMLC; NW(2.5-4.5)s,FMLC; NM(3.0-5.0)d,SE; NW(2.5-4.5)d,SE
Surface Type: Hard
Last updated: Mon 10/29/2012 4:20 PM (Eastern Time) Miami, FL 11/07/2012 11:59 PM(Eastern Time)
Register Online
11/10/2012 Fall International Super Series (Level 6) - 151567712
Twin Oaks Tennis Club
BG(18-16)sd,SE
Surface Type: Clay
Vero Beach, FL 11/05/2012 11:59 PM(Eastern Time)
Register Online

11/10/2012 BSAC Tennis Rookie Thanksgiving Classic (Level 8) - 153311812
Brandon Sports & Aquatic
BG(18-12)s,FMLC; BG(10 (60'Court/Orange Ball) )s,FMLC
Surface Type: UNKNOWN
Brandon, FL 11/06/2012 11:59 PM(Eastern Time)
Register Online

11/10/2012 Harry Gilbert's Fall Super Series (Level 6) - 153409712
Harry Gilbert Tennis
BG(18-12)sd,SE; BG(10 (60'Court/Orange Ball) )sd,FMLC
Surface Type: Clay
Daytona Beach, FL 11/05/2012 11:59 PM(Eastern Time)
Register Online

11/10/2012 Celsius "Turkey" Rookie Classic (Level 8) - 153507512
Florida Tennis Academy
BG(16-12)s,FMLC; BG(10 (60'Court/Orange Ball) )s,FMLC
Surface Type: Hard
Sarasota, FL 11/06/2012 11:59 PM(Eastern Time)
Register Online

11/10/2012 Palm Beach Gardens "Serve-the-Stuffing" Super Series (Level 6) - 153620112
City of Palm Beach Gardens
BG(14-12)sd,SE; BG(10 (60'Court/Orange Ball) )sd,FMLC
Surface Type: Clay
Last updated: Wed 10/24/2012 6:12 PM (Eastern Time) Palm Beach Gardens, FL 11/05/2012 11:59 PM(Eastern Time)
Register Online

11/10/2012 The Gobbler Super Series (Level 6) - 153702812
Arthur Allen Tennis Center at Cambier Park
BG(18-12)sd,SE; BG(10 (60'Court/Orange Ball) )sd,FMLC
Surface Type: Clay
Naples, FL 11/05/2012 11:59 PM(Eastern Time)
Register Online

11/10/2012 Weston Fall Rookie Open (Level 8) - 153816512
Weston Tennis Center
BG(16-12)s,FMLC; BG(10 (60'Court/Orange Ball) )s,FMLC
Surface Type: Clay
Weston, FL

All the other ones are junior tournaments.

Generally speaking, Florida has better weather, better facilities, etc. but Texas has better tournaments. However, for the time period that you are talking about (mid november on) there isn't that much. There is a big tournament in Corpus Christi and another one is Dallas after Christmas but not much in between.

mikeler said:

All the other ones are junior tournaments.

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Ok, tx!

atatu said:

Generally speaking, Florida has better weather, better facilities, etc. but Texas has better tournaments. However, for the time period that you are talking about (mid november on) there isn't that much. There is a big tournament in Corpus Christi and another one is Dallas after Christmas but not much in between.

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Ty for that very usefull info!