A little over twelve months ago, we officially debuted our maiden year of the Compete & Earn series. The objective of this new circuit was to provide more regular playing and earning opportunities to a wider demographic of player across the UK- those players who may not often get the chance to access such a degree of prize money and player support. The Progress Tour, alongside its partners, worked to deliver a total of 36 of these ‘mini money’ events across the UK, providing level-based matchplay to a total of 297 players! Players of all levels joined in on the competition and were given an opportunity to earn prize money across all three tiers of competition.
Throughout the year, all players also accumulated circuit points to improve their standings on the 2022 leaderboard with significant financial support up for grabs for the top four finishers. We are excited to announce that all results are now locked in and the top four finishers with their respective financial support packages are...
James Markiewicz (£4,000) - 153 points (8 events)
Hugo Jackson (£2,500) - 129 points (8 events)
Aleksandar Andic (1,000) - 110 points (6 events)
Jack Caso (£1,000) - 109 points (8 events)
Every pound and penny of these major support packages will be distributed to players to directly offset costs incurred through their tennis development (costs such as training, travel, tournament and equipment).
But that’s not all... The top finishing male and female 18U player on the final leaderboard, Hugo Jackson and Roisin Boyd, also earned the opportunity to take up a week-long intensive training trip courtesy of our partners at world-renowned academies - Tenerife Tennis Academy and SotoTennis Academy. Players will be given the opportunity to immerse themselves into the life of a full-time tennis player at both academies. Of the Compete & Earn series, Director of SotoTennis Academy, Dan Kiernan said, “It is an honour and privilege to be a partner of these wonderful events. Tennis is the best sport in the world, and is a sport that should be available for all ages and stages of development to compete in an accessible manner. The work Barry has put in the last few years to create these competitive opportunities is inspirational to us all and I am so happy we can give a little back to say thanks. Keep supporting and keep competing!”
We talked to some of the players to learn more about their Compete & Earn experience and to put their progress over the past year in perspective...
James Markiewicz mentioned, "What I really like about the format is that you got four good matches, no matter what, over just two days. They were held quite briefly, so even the two matches per day didn’t take all day. So it was a really good opportunity, especially if it’s closeby, to just get out there and play. Obviously, if you did well, it was exciting to get some leaderboard points and some prize money right after the tournament."
The shorter mini money format also seemed to be appealing to some of the players. Jack Caso said, "I chose to participate in the C&E events because they were over the weekend, which fit my schedule well and there was decent prize money on offer, so that was a great incentive as well. Four matches over the weekend offered a great opportunity to get some good quality match practice in."
As well as prize money and circuit points, the format also made it possible for Tier 2 and 3 players to earn their way into the higher level tiers to pitch themselves against higher rated players. Roisin Boyd earned her way up to Tier 1 and shared,"It was a fantastic opportunity to play against a higher standard and has also helped me see what I need to improve to get up to that Tier 1 (UTR 9.00+) standard." She also indicated that the co-ed makes the Compete & Earn format stand out from other events... "It helps me deal with different types of balls. It helps you prepare to play a variety of different types of players."
In 2022, both James Markiewicz (Doubles) and Aleksandar Andic (Singles) have gone on to pick up the first ATP points of their careers, and hope to use the financial support provided by the Compete & Earn circuit to help build on their ATP rankings as we head into 2023. Find out how James thinks his financial support will help him in 2023 through the video below...
In 2022, the new circuit provided a total of over £35,000 in prize money and player support packages to over 100 players with hundreds of level-based and progressive playing opportunities for all 297 entrants. With lessons learned from its maiden year, the Compete & Earn will return in 2023, continuing to pursue the same overarching objectives. Players will continue to accumulate circuit points with the aim of earning one of the substantial financial support packages at the end of the year. More details and event calendar will be released soon! Follow @theprogresstour on Instagram to be the first to find out!
We wish you all a fantastic 2023!
The Progress Tour Team