LANDISVILLE, Pa- (LititzDailyNews.com) High heat interrupted play for the second straight day on Tuesday at the $100,000 Koser Jeweler Tennis Challenge in Landisville, where top women pros from around the world are competing on the courts at the Hempfield Rec Center in preparation for the upcoming US Open.
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Six players will finish out matches Wednesday morning that were suspended and carried over from the previous day due to weather delays. Story continues below.
Play in the first round of the qualifying tournament was suspended Monday when temperatures rose sharply after noon. Second-round play was stopped even earlier in the day Tuesday as temperatures topping 95 degrees combined with high humidity to make play dangerous. The USTA “heat rule” kicks in when temperatures and humidity combine to exceed a certain threshold in an effort to pre-empt heat-related illness and injury.
Nagi Hanatani jumps to serve at the Koser tournament in Landisville, PA on Tuesday, August 9, 2022. Photo (c)2022 Lynn Rebuck/LititzDailyNews.com
“We put a line in the sand because we want to make sure that the players are safe, the staff is safe, the ball kids are safe, and that’s of the utmost importance,” said tournament director Wilson Pipkin, director of tennis at Hempfield Rec.
The interruptions are tough on the competitors.
“A player could be on the court, they could be two points from winning a match, and then all of a sudden it gets pulled because the heat levels get up too high,” Pipkin said.
Similar scenarios played out throughout the first two days of the tournament. Players must wait until they are called to return to the court.
“They could sit out, 2, 3, 4 hours,” Pipkin said, hopeful that the singles qualifying matches could be completed today.
Christina Rosca reaches for a backhand. Photo by Lynn Rebuck/LititzDailyNews.com.
“Today is a lighter schedule, so we’re hoping that even with the heat rule, if we can get them back on court, and get the singles matches finished, because all the singles winners today will move into the main draw,” he said. Doubles matches slated for today were postponed until Wednesday.
Once on-court conditions improve, players are summoned back to pick up where they had left off. Some waited the better part of the day Monday or Tuesday to play.
Weather impacted matches for one of the Koser players on both days.
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The start of the Monday match between American Mckenna Jones and Anna Danilina of Kazakstan was delayed due to the high heat on Stadium Court. Once underway, the play was close and competitive. Danilina double-faulted to lose the first-set tiebreaker. She led 2-0 in the second set when play was suspended due to darkness around 8:30 p.m.
McKenna Jones returns serve during a match against Anna Danilina on Tuesday, August 9, 2022. Photo by Lynn Rebuck/LititzDailyNews.com
“We tend not to play night matches here because of our lights,” said Pipkin. “They’re standard for recreational play, not professional play.”
Danilina and Jones resumed their match on Stadium Court Tuesday morning, where Jones won the second set in a tiebreaker to take the match, 7-6, 7-6 and advance to the next round, where she would face Erica Oosterhaut.
The match with Oosterhaut began following the hours-long heat delay today, with Jones
taking the first set 7-5. Play was halted by rain around 7:30 p.m. Their match, as well as other final-round qualifying matches, will resume Wednesday morning at 9 a.m. The winners will obtain a berth in the main draw, which is also slated to start on Wednesday. The matches are free and open to the public.
Harrisburg’s Nicole Coopersmith, who obtained a wildcard entry into the main draw, is scheduled to play a match on Wednesday in the round of 32. In an interview with LititizDailyNews.com ahead of the tournament, Coopersmith expressed her goals.
Photo by Lynn Rebuck/LititzDailyNews.com
“I would love to win, really I want to see how I match up with all these girls playing, and just to get through each round,” Coopersmith said. You can watch the interview with her and Pipkin here.
As for Pipkin, he’s hoping for a winning forecast.
“The rest of the week looks really nice except for some rain tomorrow. But the heat looks like it’s going away after the storm blows in.”
Find tournament draws, match schedules, and watch the live stream from stadium court on LandisvilleProCircuit.com.
Note: This article was corrected to show that Danilina led 2-0 in the second set prior to play being suspended.
Lynn Rebuck is the editor of award-winning LititzDailyNews.com. Email news tips to her at [email protected]. Follow LititzDailyNews.com on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube.
