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Towpath tennis and the Akron Open
RICHARD WEINER
Legal News Reporter
Published: July 28, 2011
The seventh annual Akron Open tennis tournament will be held July 28-31 at Hyre Park in Ellet. This is the largest USTA-sanctioned tournament in northeast Ohio.
The tournament, which is affiliated with the United States Tennis Association (USTA), has a number of divisions, including men's and women's rated and open divisions as well as open mixed. Thursday and Friday play will begin after 4 p.m. and continue all day Saturday and Sunday.
The tournament is put together by Towpath Tennis, which is located in the Merriman Valley at 2108 Akron-Peninsula Rd.
Although Towpath Tennis could have hosted this tournament at its own courts, owner Dallas Aleman said that he puts the tournament on public courts as a part of his and his business’s commitment to amateur tennis in this area and in the country.
“It is our effort to bring tennis back to public parks,” said Aleman, who has been with Towpath Tennis since 1977.
Aleman began his career and tennis play locally, playing at the old Akron Central High School and the University of Akron, and then moving to California to pursue both his tennis play and a higher degree. He had decided to commit his career to the game, saying, “tennis is the only thing that I’ve ever done,” but also realized that he could not play the game forever.
“I wanted to keep my education going as I kept playing,” he said.
He also wanted to work with professional athletes, maybe as an agent. So he decided to obtain a law degree, which he reasoned would help him in business after his playing days were over, and which he received from Golden Gate University in 1977. At the same time, he was a founding member of the USPTA in Northern California, which gave him experience in the structure of that organization.
After receiving his juris doctor, he returned on invitation to help run Towpath Tennis, a business he eventually became co-owner of, with his wife Nancy, in the mid- 1980s.
When Aleman arrived at Towpath Tennis in 1977, there were three courts. Now, there is a full tennis facility, with much more expansion on the horizon.
“We want to grow the game locally,” he said.
Currently, the club has 13 indoor and two outdoor courts and a pro shop. The club has the area’s first Quick Start Mini Court for the 10-and-under set.
Seven professional tennis teachers, in addition to Aleman, teach the game there. Membership dues run from $15 to $37 per month. Open court times are about $15 per hour per court. There are various leagues and other discounts.
Aleman says that the club has over 7,000 people on its mailing lists.
The club currently sits in its original location, which is below the road by several feet and is subject to flooding (which it experienced in 2003 and 2004).
The plans are to move most of the club functions up toward the road to raise them up out of the potential flood area. New facilities, which will triple the size of the club, will include a clubhouse and more indoor courts. The current domes over the courts in the back of the club will be torn down, and those courts will be outdoors.
The club was rated as the USTA Midwest Facility of the Year in 2008, and is #1 on the Fox 8 Hotlist.
The pro shop itself is the largest of its kind in northeast Ohio. “It is a destination shop,” said Aleman. “People come from all over.” The store is a preferred vendor for a number of companies, including Nike.
They also come from all over to play at the Akron Open and at other tournaments sponsored by the club. The Akron Open drew 200 players last year, and he would like to someday bring a large national tournament in. The club will also host the Junior Team Tennis Midwest Championships in early August.
This year, for the first time, the Akron Open will be giving prize money. All entrants to this tournament must be USTA members (who can sign up at Towpath Tennis). There are various entry fees for the different categories of play, and the ten-and-under division is free to play.
For more information on the club or the Akron Open, visit www.towpathtennis.com.