Kenny Huffman Tennis Classic
Since 1973
51 Years
Hi Tennis Fans,
Well, the tennis season started out in March and crashed, due to the rain. Some high school teams have only had 3 matches. We are hoping for better weather in April. I just checked the weather report for Pikeville and this next week looks like more rain. This is a perfect time to start planting the seed for indoor courts. You could build 4 indoor courts at Bob Amos. There are so many schools using the courts already; Pikeville High School, Shelby Valley, Pike Central, & UPIKE – men and women’s teams. You
coaches need to start getting some big investors and researching grants. Sounds like a great idea to me.
I talked with some of the coaches in the Pikeville and surrounding areas. At Shelby Vally, Coach Napier says they have only had 6 matches. Both the Boy’s and Girl’s have 3 wins. The Girl’s Doubles team of Bethany Brown and Keira Newsom have one loss. The Boy’s Doubles team of Jaxson Napier and David Johnson are undefeated. In addition, Jaxson Napier and Keira Newsom each have only one loss in singles. The rest of the team is improving with each match. Coach Freddie Napier is optimistic that several Wildcats will make it to the State Tournament at the end of May. Best of luck Shelby Valley.
Coach Brennan Alderman from Pikeville High School says the weather has been a great hindrance. They can’t get any matches in. So far, their Girl’s team is undefeated. Good luck Pikeville High School.
From Belfry, Coach Tim McNamee’s team has only had 3 matches the whole month of March due to rain. They have a very young team this year with 8 first year players and 3 second year players. Their only senior player is Clara McNamee. She has won both her matches, 8-
The KHTC scholarship went to Clara McNamee and Phoenix Eddington. They will receive recognition at the Regional Tournament May 6-
We had our Kenny Huffman Tennis Classic zoom meeting this past Sunday night, April 7. We will be starting our fundraising for the tournament this month in April. It was suggested to include a Pickleball Tournament to coincide with the tennis tournament. That sounds exciting. Further details will come out next month. We will be advertising and sending out flyers and information from now until July 26th. If you have a donation or a gift we can raffle off, please notify Jim Vanover at jvanover@vhblaw.com or Freddie Napier at freddie.napier@pike.kyschools.us.
In the last week there were a minimum of 4 professional tennis tournaments going on at the same time. At the Charleston Tournament, Americans won both the singles and doubles. Danelle Collins won the Singles. Sloan Stevens and Ashlyn Krueger won the Women’s Doubles. Danelle has been a power house lately winning the Miami Open and the Charleston Tournaments.
The Houston Clay Court Tournament was also won by an American. Ben Shelton defeated Francis Tiafoe 7-
The Grand Prix in Morocco was won by Matteo Baratini who beat out Carrabelle Baena 7-
In the ATP the U.S. has 3 in the top 20. In the WTA the U.S. has 5 in the top 21 players in the world. That speaks pretty good for the United States Tennis.
Be sure and sign up early for the KHTC Tournament to make sure you get in. Entries will start on line in May. Let me leave you with this quote by Jannik Sinner; “You have to fight and work for every point. That is what I try to do on the court. Tennis is a good sport because you can set new goals. It doesn’t really matter what kind of title you win.” So, go out on the court and be the best you can be. Talk to you next month.
Sue Huffman Stanley 
Founder of Kenny Huffman Tennis Classic
KHTC Secretary
KHTC Board Member
Author of “A Tennis Love Story”
April 2024
KHTC NEWSLETTER