Bakersfield Men’s Tennis Open returns Monday, BC players to compete

The 11th men’s Bakersfield Tennis Open will take place at the Bakersfield Racquet Club next week, bringing a professional tour event to town with an international field and a few local players set to compete.

It opens at 10 a.m. Monday as 32 players will vie for one of eight spots in the main draw, which begins Tuesday. The Bakersfield Tennis Open runs through the following weekend, with the doubles title match on March 21 and the singles final on March 22.

This tournament attracts Top 300 players from every continent except Antarctica. The prize money is modest, but players chase ranking points earned with victories to advance their pursuit of competing on tennis’ biggest stages.

The Bakersfield Open has nine tournament alumni who are now ranked among the world’s Top 100, including Taylor Fritz, who is the top American man at No. 7 and two former BT Open champions who met at the BNP Paribas Open at Indian Wells in Palm Springs, Francis Tiafoe, ranked 22nd, and 41st-ranked Jenson Brooksby.

The BT Open offers a local player participation opportunity. Each year, the tournament extends entry opportunities to locals who wish to compete — individuals have ranged from local teaching pros to rising high school and college standouts.

This year, Bakersfield College men’s tennis team players are involved. Two BC players, Mati Lipczynski and Zeb Duket, have earned spots in the singles qualifier tournament on Monday. Meanwhile, BC’s No. 1 doubles team of Axl Gonzaga and Shang Kao received entry into the main draw.

Of the four players, Duket is the only one to have past BT Open experience. The BC freshman, who was a Bakersfield Christian High standout who helped the Eagles to three Central Section titles and last year was the section’s singles champion, had a qualifier entry into the 2024 BT Open.

“I am honored to be chosen for a wildcard spot,” Duket said. “I want to thank BRC and the BT Open for giving me another opportunity to represent Bakersfield in this tournament.”

Meanwhile, this will be an opportunity for tournament attendees to see BC’s Lipczynski, Gonzaga and Kao, who hail from Poland, the Philippines and Taiwan, respectively, as well as the others in the tournament field who represent some of the best tennis players from around the world.

The BT Open will host a pre-tournament clinic this Sunday. Local players can register for a tennis clinic with BT Open players from 5 to 6:30 p.m. at BRC, followed by courtside dinner and a doubles exhibition match.

Following Monday’s full day of qualifier matches, the completion of the singles qualifier begins at 10 a.m. Tuesday, followed by the start of the singles main draw after 1 p.m. The evening program starts at 6 with a main draw singles and doubles match.

Wednesday, Thursday and next Friday will offer daily singles and doubles matches in the morning and afternoon and featured matches during evening sessions that start at 6.

Special community-focused events will take place during the week. The Kern Community Tennis Association will host an awards event and host high school teams on Thursday. Next Saturday is Kids Day from 10:30 a.m. to noon with a free beginners’ tennis clinic open to kids of all ages along with free pizza and ice cream.

Saturday’s tennis schedule will be highlighted by the singles semifinals matches, starting at 1 p.m. The doubles final is scheduled for 5 p.m. Sunday’s singles championship match is at 1 p.m.

The BT Open is open to the public and admission is free at the BRC, which is at 1660 Pine St. Learn more at btopen.org or call 661-325-8652.