Hits for Hope tennis event has record number of entrants for 2026

The 15th edition of the Conrad Weiser Hits for Hope Tennis tournament in Robesonia has broken its own record as the largest tennis tournament in Pennsylvania and third largest tournament on the East Coast of the United States with 328 players entered.

The event will benefit the Wounded Warrior Project in 2026.

Hits for Hope Tennis Tournament starts this week with players coming from Kentucky, Ohio, Virginia and locations throughout the Northeast.

The tournament runs day and night from 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. through June 14 with the inaugural One Hot Night 1 Point Tennis Tournament with 70 players in that draw. The tournament broke its own record as the largest tennis tournament in Pennsylvania with 315 players entering. The old mark was set in 2024.

Highlights from the adult draw tournament include a 60 player men’s singles field, the largest in Hits for Hope history, led by Joey Link, a native of Germany who is a teaching pro in Lancaster and 2025 Hits for Hope men’s singles finalist Dominic Suwak of Virginia.

In the women’s singles draw, former Conrad Weiser PIAA State Doubles champion and current Mt. St. Mary’s No. 1 player Emma Perkins, along with Erika Dunwoody the 2026 PIAA State AAA singles finalist from Downingtown East, are the top 2 seeds respectively.

In Mixed Open Doubles, which is a full 32 team draw, the top seeds are the defending champions Matt Muoio (the 2025 Adult tournament MVP) and Cami Townsend, a teaching pro from Philadelphia who played Division 1 tennis at Texas A&M Corpus Christi.

In Men’s Doubles, Dominic Suwak and Max Arkans, a doubles team from Shenandoah University, are the defending champions and seeded first. The 2 seed belongs to Conrad Weiser Tennis Association head teaching pro Kaushik Das and partner Dave Emkey, a former Berks County singles county champion.

Women’s Doubles is highlighted by Perkins and her partner Mia Mattricciano, a Division 1 player at Loyola, from Limerick.

In the junior draws, rising freshmen Juliet Perkins is seeded No. 1 in 7 draws including Girls 14U singles, Girls 18U Singles, Girls 14U Doubles, Girls 18U Doubles, Mixed 18U Doubles and Mixed 14U doubles and Sister/Sister Doubles with sister Emma Perkins.

Boys 18s Singles top seed is Henry Wright from Paducah, Kentucky.

The marquee night at Hits for Hope is the Night of Championsat 7 p.m. on Saturday, which includes the donation to Wounded Warrior Project as part of the Gala & Awards at the Hits for Hope Night of Champions ceremony.

The ceremony also includes the Merv Heller Memorial Scholarship and BCTA Berks County Tennis Hall of Fame induction in addition to marquee night matches.

This year’s BCTA Hall of Fame inductions include: Dale and Lou Ann Reppert, longtime tennis coaches from Kutztown, and posthumously Dale Cullin, who coached Fleetwood tennis to multiple championships in the 1960s. Additionally, Charlie Burkhardt, the legendary tennis coach from Brandywine Heights who coached 55 seasons at the school, will be honored with the second ever awarding of the Merv Heller Lifetime Achievement award.