State High School Tennis Tournaments Are Underway in Oklahoma City

The 2022 Oklahoma High School Tennis State Championships are in full swing. The Girls’ State Championships wrapped up on May 7, 2022 and the boys’ competition takes place the weekend of May 13-14. This year, Oklahoma City Tennis Center hosted both weekends of the competition. 

Oklahoma City Tennis Center, the 2021 USTA Missouri Valley Member Organization of the year, will have a busy summer of events after the state tournament as well. It was recently selected to host three USTA League National Championships later in the summer. On top of that, it also hosts tennis programming for all ages and houses First Serve Oklahoma City.

"When we took over the management of this facility, we really strived to take the high school state championships to anther level. We use software that allows our spectators to use their phone to see who is currently playing on each court, and they can pull up all of the up to date draws," Oklahoma City Tennis Center Facility Director Steve Henry said, "We do a full awards ceremony after each classification has concluded. There are medals for the top 5 finishers of each position, Team runner up and the Team Champion is honored. A photographer is on site. The picture of each champion from each class and position is displayed for the year at the tennis center."

The Oklahoma High School Tennis State Championships have a rich history, dating back to 1958 when there was only one class of girls competition and two classes of boys competition. It has since grown into one of the largest state tennis championships in USTA Missouri Valley, with 12 draws of 16 with a feed in to the consolation bracket. During the four total days of each tournament, an average of 7,500 players, coaches, parents and fans show up to Oklahoma City Tennis Center.

In Oklahoma, both boys and girls play high school tennis in the spring. The Oklahoma Secondary Schools Activity Association (OSSAA) Girls State Championships are the first Friday/Saturday in May, followed by the Boys the next Friday/Saturday. One unique aspect of this tournament is that all classifications (4A, 5A, 6A) for the entire state of Oklahoma are played at one site.