New England

Tennis Couple Hosts First Successful Boston Tennis Classic

James Maimonis, Manager, Media & Communications | June 24, 2022

WESTBOROUGH, MA- In 2001 at a Gay and Lesbian Tennis Alliance (GLTA) World Tour tournament in Montreal, Edwin Medrano gave his extra bottle of Gatorade to his singles opponent, Chris Wood, during their match. Medrano also claims he let Wood win that match. From there, the two opponents, like so many do at GLTA events, started talking and formed an immediate friendship.

 

With Medrano living in Toronto and Wood based in Boston, the two fell out of touch following the tournament’s end.

 

Five years later at the Gay Games in Chicago, Medrano and Wood reconnected, and shortly after the event, began dating long distance until Medrano moved to Boston in 2007.

 

Now, 15 years later, the two are happily married, are proud doubles partners on the court and successfully organized the 2022 Boston Tennis Classic as Tournament Directors (TDs), their first time running a tennis event together.

 

“The first ever tournament I played in in 2001 was actually the Boston Tennis Classic. I’ve played most years and been on the planning committee, so it was fun running it this year with Edwin,” Wood said.

Chris (left) and Edwin are partners both on the court and off.

Former TDs Ryan Losey and Roman Krasikov gave up the reins to Boston’s only GLTA Tour event following a successful 2019 showing, and Medrano felt it was his chance to speak up.

 

“We played doubles with Ryan & Roman right after the tournament in 2019. We were giving Ryan a ride home and he told me they needed to find someone else to run it next year, so Edwin jumped in to volunteer immediately. He had run the Toronto tournament one year and I helped out in Boston, so it seemed like a great opportunity,” Wood said. 

 

Due to the pandemic however, the 2020 event was canceled soon after registration had opened. Last year’s event was canceled as well, so naturally the pair, and the players, were eager to hit the ground running in 2022.

 

Registrations for the 13 divisions filled within the first three days, a tournament record.

 

“It was so nice to see our old tennis friends who we played against in the past, show up. Reconnecting with all of them was great since the tournaments have been on pause since the pandemic,” Medrano said. “I was so excited to see these new players who haven't played a tournament before do well and enjoy their experience enough that they said they want to come back next year.”

The 2022 Boston Tennis Classic took place from June 17-19 at Woburn Racquet Club in Woburn, MA and featured 102 players from all over the world. 

 

“You see each other on social media, but it just isn't the same. This tournament brought a sense of normalcy to the world again, watching everyone compete and socialize in between matches,” Wood added.

 

Medrano and Wood competed together in doubles and each played singles as well. Wood reached the semifinals in the 40+ B division, where he lost in a third-set super tiebreak.

 

Wood’s matchup was one of 32 that saw third-set super tiebreaks throughout the tournament.

“There were many competitive matches. We saw longtime friends playing against each other and newbies who were playing in their first GLTA tournament,” Wood said. “We also had a couple of interesting doubles teams - twin brothers and uncle/nephew. I think those are both firsts for the Boston Tennis Classic.”

 

One of the popular attractions of the weekend is always the player banquet, and this year was no different. Following the on-court action, players, volunteers and guests flocked to the Dorchester Brewing Company for food, drinks, games and raffles to benefit Sportsmen’s Tennis & Enrichment center.  

 

“The banquet is always my favorite part of the tournament. We got to see everyone out of their tennis clothes and looking pretty good. Everyone had a chance to loosen up and socialize with the rest of the players,” Medrano said. “Mary Long from Sportsmen’s eloquently talked about her organization’s amazing history and their future plans. It was so good to know that our donations will not only be helping this tennis facility but also make an impact in the lives of the people in the community,”

 

In total, the Boston Tennis Classic raised $1,500 for Sportsmen’s. 

 

For full tournament results and more information, click here. 

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