ATP tournament brings men’s professional tennis competition to Lincoln

The Sid and Hazel Dillon Tennis Center in Lincoln was the site of the inaugural Lincoln Challenger tournament. The men’s professional ATP Challenger tournament brought in players from all over the world to Lincoln for a weeklong series of singles and doubles matches on Aug. 4-11. It was a way to expose the community to a high level of tennis as well as showcase the University of Nebraska-Lincoln’s elite tennis facility. 

Peter Kobelt, Husker men’s tennis coach, said the feedback was extremely positive when people heard the buzz about the event coming to Lincoln. Even the Husker women’s volleyball team and Head Coach John Cook came out to see the action. 

“People have been ecstatic to hear about it coming here, then to actually see it—they’ve loved it,” Kobelt said. “To bring a tournament like this here means there’s a really strong tennis community, and it’s great for them to experience it.”

A number of volunteers helped with the tournament including Cathy Robertson, who scanned tickets at the entrance each day. She hasn’t had a lot of experience with tennis but enjoyed the event and meeting the athletes.

“It’s been great to see the different levels of tennis,” Robertson said. “I’ve learned so much about the pro tour and the players trying to live out their dreams. It’s been such a wonderful experience.”

A number of ball kids also played an integral part of the weeklong event, spending hours on the courts in the hot sun retrieving tennis balls for the players. Ten-year-old Shiloh Stempson loved her stint as a ball girl and especially enjoyed meeting the professional athletes.