Tinsley set to start

A trio of American teenagers are hoping this week’s eighth annual Boyd Tinsley $50,000 USTA Women’s Pro Tennis Championships will help them crack into the Top 100 rankings.
Alexa Glatch, Lauren Albanese and Madison Brengle have combined to win eight USTA Pro Circuit titles in their young careers, with Glatch and Albanese having already made appearances in finals this year.
The 19-year-old Glatch, who hails from Newport Beach, Calif., returns to Charlottesville ranked No. 111, having climbed more than 50 places since the end of last season. A Charlottesville favorite, Glatch made her debut in a professional tournament here at age 14 and is now the fifth-highest ranked American in the WTA Tour Rankings.
Albanese is ranked No. 169, while Brengle is No. 198.
The Tinsley event received bad news on Saturday that No. 1 seed Akgul Amanuradova, currently ranked No. 93 in the world, had to withdraw from the tournament due to an injury.
American Shenay Perry, who is on the rebound from an injury that sidelined her for most of last season, also had to pull out of this week’s tournament due to an injury, as has Russian Evgeniya Rodina.
That means three of the top 13 seeds, including top-seeded Amanuradova of Uzbekistan, and fourth-seeded Rodina have dropped out.
Paraguay’s Rosana De Los Rios, ranked No. 105 in the world, will likely move up to the top-seeded position, while Glatch, previously seeded third, will probably jump a spot to the No. 2 seeding.
Qualifying for the event begins this morning at Boar’s Head Sports Club, site of this week’s tournament. Main draw play begins Tuesday morning with matches daily through next Sunday’s championship matches in both singles and doubles.
Boar’s Head Sports Club director of racquet sports Ron Manilla encourages the public to attend at no charge.
“Come and see the stars of tomorrow,” Manilla said.
Previous players who have appeared in the Boar’s Head event include: Jelena Jankovic, who ended 2008 ranked No. 1 in the world; current No. 3 American Bethanie Mattek; and world No. 17 Dominika Cibulkova.
Other Charlottesville favorites are returning, including 2005 champion Carly Gullickson; Varvara Lepchenko (the ‘05 runner-up); and Olga Puchkova (last year’s runner-up). 2008 champion Alexis Gordon is not entered in this year’s event.
Also, 2003 doubles champion Lilia Osterloh is competing in qualifying along with Ahsha Rolle, who advanced to the U.S. Open third round in 2007. Audra Cohen, who was ‘07 NCAA champion, is also competing.
Lepchenko, 22, of Allentown, Pa., is the highest-ranked American in the field at No. 101. She has finished sixth or higher on the USTA circuit’s prize money list each of the last four years.
Charlottesville native Boyd Tinsley, violinist for Dave Matthews Band and a tennis enthusiast, sponsors the event.