Former Wimbledon Champion Nielsen Wins First UTR Pro Tennis Tour Title in February

Former Wimbledon Champion Nielsen Wins First UTR Pro Tennis Tour Title in February

3 min read

The UTR Pro Tennis Tour hosted 11 events in February in Spain, the United States, Bulgaria, Denmark, and Romania. All events guaranteed at least three matches per player and offered $20,000 in prize money.

Marcela Zacarias (UTR Rating 11.60) added yet another title to her impressive title haul, while Zuzana Zlochova (10.78) took her winning ways from Europe to the United States. Frederik Nielsen (13.31), a Wimbledon doubles champion in 2012, captured his first PTT title, as did a couple of former college standouts.

Top Danish Doubles Champion Wins on PTT

Nielsen, a pro since 2001, is currently the top-ranked Danish doubles player on the ATP Tour and he won the PTT $25K Denmark during the week of February 14. Back in 2012, Nielsen won the Wimbledon doubles title (with Jonathan Marray) and he's inside the Top 100 in doubles on the ATP Tour, having been in the Top 15 in 2013.

While the 38-year-old's focus is primarily on doubles, he has won 14 ITF-level pro tournaments (most recently in 2016) before picking up his first PTT crown this month. The Denmark event was Nielsen's PTT debut.

Zlochova Wins All over the Globe

Zlochova has played and won PTT matches all over Europe and now the United States. The 32-year-old Slovakian took home the PTT $25K San Antonio title during the last week of February. It marks her fourth career PTT title and first of 2022. She had reached the semifinal of PTT $25K Miami/South Florida the week before and the final of Newport Beach (losing to Zacarias) earlier in February.

It's Zlochova's first stint in the United States after she played PTT matches all over Europe in 2021 including in Croatia, Serbia, Spain, and Romania. Her record in 2022 is 15-2, and she's set to play more PTT events in Bradenton, Fla., and Charleston, S.C.

Zuzana Zlochova captured her fourth career PTT title in February. (Photo: Roger Padayao)

Zacarias Wins Yet Again

In Newport Beach during the week of February 7, Zacarias earned her 11th career PTT title and second of 2022 with a 6-3, 7-5 win over Zlochova. Zacarias, a 27-year-old from Mexico, is a perfect 11-0 on the PTT this season.

Zacarias has mixed in ITF Tour events between her PTT appearances, with her best run being reaching the round of 16 of the W60 in Rome, Georgia as a qualifier, losing to Emma Navarro. This week Zacarias faced Navarro again, in the WTA 250 in Monterrey, Mexico, winning in three sets. It marks her first main-draw win at the WTA level.

Marcela Zacarias has the most titles of any woman on the UTR Pro Tennis Tour. (Photo: Roger Padayao)

In 2021, Zacarias won over $34K in PTT prize money and finished the year off by making her acting debut in King Richard as Arantxa Sanchez-Vicario.

Former Collegiate Standouts Shine

In San Antonio at the PTT $25K San Antonio (held concurrently as the women's PTT that Zochlova won), former Texas A&M player Harrison Adams (13.37) won his first singles pro title. Adams, a 27-year-old from New Braunfels, Texas, was playing his second PTT event after reaching the semifinals of a $25K in College Station, Texas last fall.

Former UCLA Bruin Chanelle Van Nguyen (11.27) won the PTT $25K Miami/South Florida event with a 6-3, 7-5 win over Frenchwoman Marine Partaud. It marks the 28-year-old's first PTT title in two career appearances and second pro title after having won an ITF W15 in Santo Domingo in December.

About the UTR Pro Tennis Tour

The PTT is open to players with a UTR Ranking of 200-2000, and wild cards can be awarded to those players with a UTR Ranking of 1-199 or above 2000. Every PTT event creates matchplay opportunities for up-and-coming, collegiate, and pro players thanks to a unique round-robin format. At every event, a group round-robin stage is followed by a World Cup-style playoff, guaranteeing multiple matches and counting all results towards the UTR Rating, the most accurate rating system in tennis. Every PTT event offers 4-5 matches and a minimum of $20,000 in prize money with an earnings guarantee for every participant.

For more information about UTR PTT and to see all of the results, click here.

UTR Ratings as of Feb. 28, 2022, at 9 a.m. EST.

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