Edwardsville Futures pro tourney celebrates 15 years of serving players, community

There’s a saying with running an organization or event that can be counterproductive: “We’ve always done it this way.” That approach can stifle creativity and keep real, meaningful progress from happening.

But when what you’ve been doing for a while is working, well, there’s another appropriate saying: “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.”

The Edwardsville Futures men’s professional tennis tournament will celebrate its 15th rendition from July 26 to Aug. 2 in Edwardsville, Ill., just east of St. Louis. The USTA Pro Circuit $30,000 tournament will be building on years of successful community involvement.

“It’s year No. 15, so it’s kind of a watershed year for us,” said Dave Lipe, the tournament’s director. “I can’t believe we’ve been doing it this long, but it’s something that we’re proud of. We just continue to finetune everything that we do — everything from social media to player accommodations.”

Hometown Backing

The biggest reason for success over the years has been the surrounding community, which has supported the Edwardsville Futures since the beginning. The City of Edwardsville is the largest corporate sponsor. All four local hotels partner with the tournament, providing accommodations for players, officials and guests.

The tournament is even held at Edwardsville High School, where Lipe is the boys’ and girls’ tennis head coach. His players continue to be volunteers at the tournament. It’s almost a rite of passage within the tennis programs.

It’s kind of a chicken-and-egg deal. The tournament needs the community to be involved. But because the event is successful, the community wants to be involved.

“It’s that kind of synergy,” Lipe said. “It starts with the high school programs. We’ve been putting together a state championship-level program for 30 years. We get kids involved with our high school teams, and we attract a lot of kids to tennis through our high school team and camps.

“Then we get those same kids and their families to come out and watch the pro tournament. They all work together to create some enthusiasm for our sport.”

Serving All

There are many similarities for the 2026 Edwardsville Futures to years past. There will be a kids’ night on July 27 and a diversity day on July 29. Sandwiched between is a one-point tournament on July 28. Fan Appreciation Day is July 31. For the full calendar of events, click here.