Episode 38: Bringing Pro Tennis To Cleveland

00:35

Ashtyn Morris

Welcome to another episode of Marketing Moves. I am your host, Ashtyn Morris, senior account executive at VividFront. Today's episode is perfect for all tennis fans, marketers and Clevelanders alike. Our guest today is Sam Duvall, president of Topnotch Management. Topnotch Management is a Cleveland-based boutique talent agency representing top athletes in tennis and pickleball. Sam and his team maintain a selective roster of the world's most marketable athletes and host different racquet sporting tournaments, including tennis and the land. Powered by rocket mortgage, this WTA 250 tournament is part of the US Open Series that brings top professional women's tennis players to the Nautica entertainment complex in the West Bank of the Flats and is Cleveland's only professional women's sporting event.

01:24

Ashtyn Morris

We're so excited to have Sam on today to discuss the ins and outs of tennis in the land, the different types of marketing tactics involved, and what we should expect from this year's tournament, which runs from August 17 to August 24. Sam, welcome to marketing moves.

01:38

Sam Duvall

Thanks for having me. Great to be here.

01:40

Ashtyn Morris

So excited. Before we talk about this year's upcoming tournament, I want to spend some time talking about your story. Can you tell us a little bit about yourself and Topnotch Management?

01:50

Sam Duvall

Yeah, absolutely. So, Sam Duvall, I'm originally from Mount Washington, Kentucky, which is a suburb of Louisville. And happy Clevelander for the last nine years, moved here in 2016, almost nine years, I guess. And yeah, so Topnotch is agency that I started in 2015 when I was living in New York. As you mentioned, it's a boutique talent agency really focused on racquet sports. So tennis is kind of our, most of our background. It's kind of what I've been involved with most of my life. But we've most recently gotten into pickleball and squash as well, which is amazing sport. And in those kind of sports, we manage talent and own and operate events and we also have a kind of tourism hospitality component. So yeah, it's a lot of fun and love what I do.

02:37

Ashtyn Morris

What brought you from New York to Cleveland?

02:40

Sam Duvall

Yeah, so when I left my old company to start Topnotch, my daughter had just been born, and my wife was from Cleveland, so were looking for a place to live that was a little more family-friendly, I would say. And so were contemplating going back to Kentucky or coming here. I was like, hey, let's go check out some places in Cleveland. And after the 9th house that we looked at, it was like, what does that cost? And my wife said, you know, 230, and was like, let's move to Cleveland. So there we go.

03:10

Ashtyn Morris

What's been your favorite thing about Cleveland so far?

03:12

Sam Duvall

Honestly, the people, the energy. I love sports, and just, I feel like Clevelanders love sports and love Cleveland sports. And so it's been nice to kind of just get fully behind that, especially when building like a. Trying to build a little talent agency. So it's been great.

03:29

Ashtyn Morris

Yeah, I love it. Well, as a lifelong tennis player myself, and someone who has attended tennis and land, I can confidently say that this is an event any Clevelander won't want to miss. As I mentioned earlier, Tennis in the Land, powered by Rocket Mortgage, is part of the US Open series and draws 32 of the top WTA, singles players and doubles players in the world. Your event arguably has one of the most unique venues, as it quite literally doesn't exist for most of the year because you build the courts in the West bank of the flats for the tournament. I'm excited to really dive into how you brought one of just three standalone WT events in the United States to Cleveland and the different marketing efforts that go into this premier sporting event. So I really think we should start from the beginning.

04:14

Ashtyn Morris

How did this opportunity present itself Topnotch management?

04:18

Sam Duvall

Yeah, so when I left to start top notch, we already had. I was already a tennis agent, you know, for a long time, so. But it was really important to, like, kind of diversify the revenue streams. And I always loved events. I worked on an event in DC when I lived there, a tennis event that still actually just finished city open.

04:37

Ashtyn Morris

That's a great tournament.

04:38

Sam Duvall

It's awesome. Yep. And so I always kind of wanted to have the events as part of the portfolio. And we had been looking to do. We actually started with the men's challenger, which we still run indoors in February in Cleveland, the Cleveland Racquet Club. But we had been looking for an opportunity to get kind of a top-tier event on the main circuitous. And this event, actually, I had tried to get when I was at my old company in 2014, it was in Prague at the time, and so we had always had dialogue with the WTA about it. And the week that we're in, which on the calendar is week 34. But everyone knows it as the week before.

05:10

Sam Duvall

The US Open can be a challenging week in terms of player field, just because a lot of eyes are on the US Open at that time. But we always felt like it was a great opportunity because of Cleveland's proximity to New York. And we're also right after Cincinnati, which is a mandatory tournament for men and women. And so we felt like from a player flow perspective, it was a great opportunity for the players to drive up from Cincinnati when they finish, come to Cleveland. Really low-key place to kind of prep for the open and then take an hour flight to New York. So were fortunate when we kind of made the case to the WTA that there was this event was on the calendar in Albany, New York, and it actually never ran there.

05:48

Sam Duvall

And there was some issues with the lease or something. So we kind of swooped in and presented a good case and we were able to purchase the tournament from the tour. And it's been a really fun ride. It's very challenging, but we wouldn't have it any other way.

06:03

Ashtyn Morris

Yeah. If people don't know tennis as much as obviously, we're probably gonna be talking about a lot of different things today. The timing of it really is great because getting in those tournaments before the US Open is key because it's a major grand slam. It's important for them to get those reps in if they can win. Great. A lot of momentum. So I think the timing and also the location, like you said, coming from Cincinnati up, it's not like they're going completely out of their way. So it couldn't have been perfect.

06:28

Sam Duvall

Yeah. And one of the main things is like, it's hard to. For us, like, in the first year, I remember we had like four players on our poster, and it was our first year. We're so happy to promote all these great players and none of them showed up. And it's kind of the nature of tennis sometimes that because the entry deadlines are sometimes six weeks prior, the players make their schedules, but if they go really deep in the preceding tournament, they might want a week off. So we've kind of felt like we need to make this event more of like a. Kind of just a place to be, a social atmosphere, a festival type thing that doesn't matter if your favorite players there or not, you're still gonna have a great time. And so that's really where our focus has been.

07:10

Sam Duvall

But on the flip side, like, you might have great players that lose early in Cincinnati that want to request a wild card last minute. And I think that suits us super well because obviously you need extra matches. You don't want to go to New York too early and pay for 400 a night, hotel rooms for three people times seven, and, like, it really adds up. So I kind of like our week, I guess. I think it's also because we're a women's event. The grand slams are two out of three sets. If were a men's tournament, which there does exist one in our week in Winston Salem, North Carolina, I think less top males play that because it's best of five at the grand slam, so they don't want to maybe get too tired.

07:47

Sam Duvall

So I think for us, if you look at our past champions and then how they've done at the US Open, they've actually done really well. So I think it's a. It's a great case study.

07:55

Ashtyn Morris

Absolutely. Your venue is incredibly unique and really captures the gritty spirit of Cleveland. So, since you have to build it and really it doesn't exist, how did this really play into your pitch? The WTA?

08:08

Sam Duvall

Yeah. Great question. I think. I don't know if I remember specifically how the pitch was presented to them, but, you know, we kind of got this idea to run the tournament downtown on parking lots from a men's tournament in Atlanta. That just had their last year, unfortunately. But they had a great run, probably over 15 years in Atlanta. And I used to go to that tournament all the time. Cause I had clients playing it, and I just, like, love the idea of bringing tennis to an urban area. And I think it really helps with the corporate market, showing them, like, you know, people are downtown at their offices, maybe more pre Covid, but it's coming back quite a bit, I think, but just doing something different and unique.

08:47

Sam Duvall

And it's certainly way more expensive, and it comes with a lot of challenges, and it's hard to forecast and budget for. Just things pop up. But, you know, when we wanted to show off Cleveland to the world, because this thing is televised, this event's televised in over 120 countries. You know, if. If we did it way out east or way out west at, like, a club, I just felt like it wouldn't. People wouldn't even know that it's Cleveland. And now every day on the broadcast, you know, during the event, you can tell that this is Cleveland. There's the river, there's the. There's the lake, there are the buildings, there's the ship going by. It's just something super special to everyone that works on the event.

09:22

Sam Duvall

I think, you know, it's a total grind in the lead up, but after the event, people, we're so proud of what we're doing and how we're making it look to the world, to Cleveland.

09:32

Ashtyn Morris

Yeah, well, it really shows. I remember, I mean, I've been to the event, but my parents were watching on tv, my dad had commented, he's like, wow, they got great coverage of Cleveland. Like, it is really cool and it's so unique. So I really hope that everyone can experience it, if not this year, definitely in the years to come. So I am curious, after you locked in the tournament for Cleveland, what really came next for your team? Did you focus on really planning the event from an operational standpoint? Did you start reaching out to the WTA agents or was it a little bit of both?

10:04

Sam Duvall

Yeah. So it was an interesting kind of the way it went with the WTA. I remember, I think we had, we pitched them three cities. So I have a business partner that lives in Vermont, and doing things in Vermont and New England is also super important to us and our company. And obviously doing things in Cleveland and the Midwest is also very important. So we had kind of Detroit, Cleveland and Boston as like, markets that were targeting. I always wanted to do it in Cleveland because this is where I live and it was just going to be easier for our team because were trying to build out our event team here in Cleveland.

10:35

Sam Duvall

And I remember telling, basically telling my partner, we had agreed, like, hey, if we can get, let's say, I don't know, three or $400,000 of kind of corporate commitments, like, we're going to just roll the dice and do this thing. And I don't think we quite had half of that. And I was basically like telling my partners, like, we're good, we're going to be fine. I'm, we're doing it. So we rolled the dice and, but basically the WTA allowed us to kind of go to these markets and see if we could drum up some corporate support and gave us a little bit of time before we had to, like, focus on and hone in one. And then we made a deal with the WTA that they had a lot of volatility in this week over the past 20 years with tournaments.

11:11

Sam Duvall

There used to be one in New Haven, there used to be in, like I said, in Albany that got, that didn't run. So they're really looking for a group that could run great events but also provide some stability. So the commitment that we've made to you, to the tour is that we'll keep the tournament here in northeast Ohio for a minimum of eight years. So we're going into year four now, so. And if we had it our way, it'll be here for 50 years or longer. So, yeah, so then once we get the. Once we got the tournament, it's then, yeah. You know, I know the tennis industry is super small, so talking to the other agents and letting the players know that. That we're involved and Topnotch is involved and, you know, go.

11:48

Sam Duvall

Go ask our other clients, like, what kind of people we are and what kind of events we put on. So it was a lot of word of mouth, and then, you know, then just, like, kicking down doors here in Cleveland and trying to make the corporate community aware of it, but also, like, the fans, you know, you can't do it without both of them, so. And it was super unique. I don't know if you remember in year one, we. Year one and two, we ran under the tent in the pavilion, which was really cool.

12:12

Ashtyn Morris

Was cool.

12:12

Sam Duvall

We missed that a little bit. But we also, like. We also want to operate a great tournament for the players. And getting to the same surface as the US Open was paramount to doing that. So that's why we had to build the stadium court on asphalt in the parking lot.

12:24

Ashtyn Morris

Yeah. I've been to both, and both experiences, I think were great. If anything, I feel like having them built in the parking lots, you're actually able to see. You're up close. You are so close to tennis, and I don't think people understand if you've never played tennis or never been to a tennis tournament, even not necessarily professional, you have to. Once you're able to experience it, you can see how hard they're hitting the ball, how quick they're moving. That tv does not fully capture. So if you want to see some of legitimately the best tennis players in the world, in a way you'll never be able to access them. At most tournaments, this is the event to come to.

13:02

Sam Duvall

Absolutely. And that's the beauty of building your own stadium, is you can really customize it, you know, however you want. More premium seats, less premium seats. We do have a couple shaded areas this year, which will be different, which is one thing that's sorely missed from being under the tent because it can obviously be super hot.

13:20

Ashtyn Morris

That's okay, though. What were some of the initial reactions when you were talking about this tournament to players, agents and some of those key decision makers in Cleveland?

13:30

Sam Duvall

Yeah, I think it's the year one was really challenging because you're selling something that doesn't, hasn't happened. And I think that's super challenging when you do that in anything you do. So it was kind of like, you know, build it. We had to build it. We had a little bit prove the concept and, but, you know, it's a. I know we're going to talk a little bit about this, but, like, you know, it is arguably the most high profile women's sport in the world. You know, it was really the first, you know, global women's sport. You know, obviously equal prize money at the grand slams for several years now. And it's like talk. We had, like, some great things to talk about. Right. It's like there's so many male sports already in the city.

14:11

Sam Duvall

So I think what we're trying to, like, promote and sell is a little bit different. And so that gives us some good kind of energy and talking points and allows us to get the word out about what it is. But at the end of the day, like, people have to come and have to experience it and have to have a good time, and we hope they come back. So, like, that's where we were focused on, like, getting it off the ground in year one and then trying to, like, build off of that, create more awareness, you know, figure out, like, how we're going to make this work economically.

14:36

Ashtyn Morris

Yeah.

14:37

Sam Duvall

So it's a big. It was a big endeavor, for sure.

14:39

Ashtyn Morris

Yeah. Well, you guys have done an amazing job, and it's perfect segue into my next question of how did Rocket mortgage come to the conversation? Can you tell us a little bit more about them being your presenting partner?

14:49

Sam Duvall

Yeah, absolutely. So this is year two of our partnership with REG, Rock Entertainment group, kind of the parent company of the Cavs and the Monsters and the Charge. And they obviously have a close working relationship with Rocket Mortgage. So REG, for us, is a really key partner. They work day and night on our premium ticket sales and sponsorship, so they work with our team very closely every day to bring opportunities to the table. And this is one. It's been a challenging time, I think, for some of the mortgage companies lately, and I think people feel like things are turning. And so, you know, it's probably more of a question of the details to the reg folks, but they've been great partners, and obviously, these events cannot happen without great support.

15:35

Sam Duvall

And we're stoked to have somebody that cares so much about the community, knows Cleveland well, knows how to activate, just knows the ins and outs of what we're trying to do. I mean, if anyone's seen any of the stuff that they've put their name on, it's amazing. So we're super fortunate to have them involved, and it's a multi year deal, and it allows us to kind of focus on some other areas as well, so we couldn't be more thrilled to have them on board.

16:00

Ashtyn Morris

Awesome. So, for our listeners who may not know northeast Ohio, but particularly Cleveland, has a very vibrant tennis community. We have dozens of tennis clubs in the region, like Cleveland Racket Club, Avon Oaks Paramount Westlake, Latucci, Northridge Racket and Paddle Mayfield Village Racquet Club. I quite literally could keep going on and on, and some of the top high school, college, and adult players have really come out of this area. So our tennis roots really run deep. From a marketing perspective, how important was it to tap into this tennis community, especially early on, as this event was getting off the ground?

16:37

Sam Duvall

Yeah, I mean, it's super important. I mean, the tennis community is a passionate one. You know, you know, it. You play, you know, it's been a part of my life, you know, my whole life. And so I feel like they're the easy people to go to, you know? And obviously, what we're doing is right up the alley of a tennis fan or a tennis player. So I think we're always gonna try to engage that community and do more. I think it would have been easier if we took the event closer to the clubs, but we didn't wanna do that. And we wanna grow the tennis community, and we wanna do things outside of the clubs. There will always be a place for tennis and clubs, of course, but anytime that you can kind of show off Cleveland, I think that is more of a.

17:18

Sam Duvall

It's been more of a focus for us to try to, like, take tennis, show tennis outside of the clubs a little bit. But the club communities been super, you know, important, and especially our volunteer staff, like, heavily comes from the clubs, of which I've got a great partner. The Cleveland Sports Commission really helps kind of run our volunteer program. They've been amazing to work with, and, yeah, so clubs are great. Clubs are great. But, like, you know, like, trying to get the people from the clubs to come out downtown, check out, it's always.

17:43

Ashtyn Morris

Fun for them to come out. But I think, if anything, the event really does a great way of promoting tennis in the sense that. I mean, I live in Ohio City. There is a tennis court drought, I would say, in the sense that there's not really anything downtown or outside. So this is a way for you to really promote tennis. So it just does a lot.

18:02

Sam Duvall

Yeah, it's actually. So I'm glad you said that, because for us, we're working really closely with the city of Cleveland to try to figure out, like, what courts could be resurfaced. And so we've actually started a nonprofit called Changeover. And this Friday the 9th, I think we're resurfacing courts in huff at Thurgood Marshall. And every year we're going to try to, like, go into a different community and resurface tennis courts. Cause the, you know, oftentimes they get the courts get neglected or, you know, we obviously have super harsh winters here, so, like, getting courts to survive the winters are tough, but I think it's something that we want to, like, we want to help make it easier for people to figure out, like, where can I go play? Like, where. Where are the best courts, where the closest courts, and hopefully we can even.

18:45

Sam Duvall

It's one of our goals to be able to build new court somewhere. Right. So, yeah, this is our first year doing it, and we're super excited and actually Rocket Mortgage, a big partner of this as well.

18:53

Ashtyn Morris

That's so exciting. That's great news for me because I always. I mean, you know, post tennis, when you're growing up and that's all you do, like, six days a week, and then you play in college, but now I just don't really have the time. But also, too, like, I'd have to drive 25, 30 minutes to find courts, and it's. It's hard, you know, you're limited on time. So I'm excited about that because maybe I'll pick up the racket again.

19:14

Sam Duvall

You should.

19:15

Ashtyn Morris

Yeah. So as important as it is to engage with that core tennis fan base, it's also obviously important to appeal to non-tennis fans. To put it in the context of the marketing funnel, you don't want to only hit people at the bottom of the funnel, as they're likely already bought into it, and they're coming because they are fans of tennis. Where you really need to focus more of your marketing is to prospective attendees who are likely casual sports fans or just people looking for fun things to do in Cleveland. And, you know, tennis and land is first and foremost a sporting event, but it's also an entertainment option for anyone looking for something fun to do at a really affordable price. So outside of the tennis, what type of entertainment options are happening during the tournament to appeal to this audience?

20:00

Ashtyn Morris

What's your 2024 fan fest looking like, yeah.

20:03

Sam Duvall

So our fan fest is a really cool, it's a really cool kind of adjacent space next to the tennis stadium. It is completely free. And we, you know, we have a stage with music. We'll have, like, kind of mini golf. We'll have a pickleball court. We'll have, like, food and beverage options. It'll just be kind of a vibe, like, right on the river. And it's, of course, we hope people come to the fan fest and they're like, oh, like, what's going on over there? Oh, there's a tennis match. Yeah, I'll come in. Like, great. But, like, if not, like, go hang out and just be outside. You know, the last couple months of good weather here in Cleveland.

20:37

Ashtyn Morris

Don't remind me.

20:38

Sam Duvall

Sorry, last few months. But yeah, so fan fest is a really, it's really cool that we're able to do it and, like, you know, I don't know, it's just like, I feel like just being downtown and, like, close to the water with music and on a sunny day and a great evening is just, I don't know, it's kind of. Kind of awesome.

20:56

Ashtyn Morris

It's really fun. And I don't, I mean, I could be wrong, but I don't think the majority of fan fests can be accessed if you're not actually at the tournament, at least for the Western and Southern Open in Cincinnati. I don't think you could hang out in that fan fest area if you didn't have a ticket. So that's really cool that you're making it accessible for people who might not even know but they're around, and then if they want to come, great.

21:17

Sam Duvall

Yeah. And to your point, like, marketing, that is the most challenging part. And I'm certainly not, I'm not an expert marketer, but, like, try to. Try to, like, let people know and come on places like this and talk about it, and hopefully people listen and check it out because it is super easy to get to. And actually, I think I just read that the RTA waterfront line is running again on the weekends only every 15 minutes. So I think you can, like, walk from, you know, you can walk across the center bridge from one of the RTA stations, like, right after Tower City. So it's like a ten minute walk. So super accessible and, you know, plenty of parking for those that come from a little bit further, like, which is one great thing about being down there.

21:54

Sam Duvall

You know, taking their parking lots and turning them into tennis courts is great. And they also have so many parking lots that there's place to park.

22:00

Ashtyn Morris

So, yeah, that's definitely key, especially for people who don't like parking, like myself. There's plenty of spots available. I also, too, I know we've talked about it a bit of. But what makes this so attractive to non tennis fans is the location, because it's easily accessible and its proximity to the flats, which I feel like is a really great spot to be in, especially to capture people looking for something fun to do.

22:22

Sam Duvall

Absolutely. Yeah. And usually the water taxis is rolling across the river, too, so that makes it a little bit easier. It can be a bit tricky getting from the west bank to the east bank, but I think with. With things like the waterfront line running again, and hopefully it'll be easier and easier.

22:37

Ashtyn Morris

Yeah. So now, more than ever, women's sports are really on the rise. The interest and support for women's sports has been steadily growing, I would say, over the last decade, but 2023 and 2024 have been some pivotal years for female athletes and women's sports as a whole. Deloitte actually forecasted that in 2024, for the first time, women's elite sports will generate a revenue that surpasses $1 billion, which is a 300% increase on the industry's evaluation in 2021. Like we've talked about, tennis and land is the only professional women's sporting event in Cleveland. With that honor, how does your team really help amplify and support your female athletes voices and initiatives during the tournament?

23:21

Sam Duvall

Yeah, well, we are currently the only one, but hopefully the NWSL bid gets, you know, as successful. Those folks over there at Cleveland soccer do a great job, and I know they put a very compelling pitch together, so good luck to them. I don't know. Hopefully in the next few months that's decided. But, yeah, it's just, I get. It's amazing seeing the growth of women's sports. You know, sometimes as a tennis person, I get a little frustrated because I felt like. I feel like women's tennis has paved the way. And, you know, and it's one reason that we're trying to do so many events in the US and bring tennis back to the forefront of where it was, you know, in the eighties and nineties, at least to american fans.

23:58

Sam Duvall

I mean, it is obviously a global sport, but I feel like, you know, we gotta do a great, you know, maybe a better job for us and the tours to tell the story of how, you know, what Billie Jean King did, not just for women's sports, but also, like, women's tennis. Right? Like started with that. So, yeah, I think it's seeing these athletes and how hard they work for, you know, putting on a show for fans all across the world. Like, literally going from, you have players that just finished the Olympics, that flew straight toronto, have, like, a two day break, and have to play again, you know, six hour time difference. It's just like. Like the global tour. It's really something.

24:36

Sam Duvall

I mean, it's a nonstop sport, but, yeah, I think, yeah, it's just, like, been tremendous growth, but I want to see that get behind more on the tennis side. And, of course, it's amazing to kind of see what's happening with the WNBA, NWSL. Amazing growth. And I got. I was fortunate to go to the women's final four, which is amazing. So shout out to the sports commission for running a great event. But that was really cool.

24:57

Ashtyn Morris

That was perfect. I mean, that year, I mean, this past year, it couldn't have come together at a better time. For the final four in Cleveland, do you have any dedicated programming or really any opportunities around female empowerment or women in sports during this year's tournament?

25:12

Sam Duvall

Yeah. So I think it's our third year doing the women in business summit, which is really a successful event led by James Palko on our team. But really, everyone's involved, and we have some great speakers. I'm not sure if they're announced yet, but they will be very soon. And it's an event just talking about, you know, women in business, and there's always a sports component. So usually the panelists that speak talk about their experiences, kind of navigating the challenging waters of business, but also on the sports side of it. So it's a terrific event that's grown every year, and we're looking to do more, kind of more things like that and to promote as much as we.

25:48

Ashtyn Morris

Can for your different vendors or really partners at these events. Do you try to work with female owned or female focused partners throughout the tournament?

25:57

Sam Duvall

Yeah, I mean, it's always, you know, it's always something that is on, you know, in the back of our minds, you know, and some. It's easier than. Than others, certainly. But absolutely. I mean, we want to. We want to promote. Promote women led companies as much as possible. And, you know, we're obviously super thrilled to just showcase the athletes. Well, they showcase themselves, but, like, put build a stadium so they can showcase themselves, I guess, but, yeah, absolutely.

26:21

Ashtyn Morris

Awesome. So, now that we've discussed, really, the ins and outs of the events as a whole, I want to talk about this year's tournament. Since you are in your fourth year, you've definitely had some time under your belt to determine what has worked really well and maybe some areas of improvement for a better fan and player experience overall. What do attendees have to look forward to at this year's tournament? Who are some of the confirmed players? As of today, we have two wild.

26:45

Sam Duvall

Cards left, so we're going to hold those and see who loses early in Cincinnati. Lauren Davis, obviously from Cleveland. Amazing player. She's got a wild card currently. This will. She's, she's played the event every year, but she's really the best kind of local player that we've had for years. And if you haven't watched her play, like, she's amazing. She's so fun. She's so dogged. She's amazing. So much fun to watch. And she's a great girl, too. So let's see. We have defended, not our defending champ, but we've had a past champion, SamSonova, who is maybe 1516 in the world.

27:14

Ashtyn Morris

She's amazing. I saw when she won here. She's a beast.

27:19

Sam Duvall

Yeah, she's a beast. Like, she could for sure win on grand slam.

27:22

Ashtyn Morris

Oh, yeah.

27:22

Sam Duvall

No doubt. And then Leylah Fernandez is back, which everyone loves. Leylah. So top 30 player from Canada, Peyton Stearns, too, right? Peyton Stearns as well. Yes.

27:30

Ashtyn Morris

She signed my hat in Cincinnati.

27:32

Sam Duvall

Nice. Awesome. Yeah, Peyton's great. She's been a great follow on Twitter, actually. She's quite funny. Or X, I guess, if that's what it's called, I think.

27:40

Ashtyn Morris

Yes.

27:40

Sam Duvall

You're good. Yeah. I mean, the full field is out, but there will be a bit of movement. Just kind of like naturally happening, but super excited to kind of see what comes together in the next couple weeks. I mean, we start two weeks from today, I think.

27:51

Ashtyn Morris

Yeah, it's exciting. It's coming up quick.

27:53

Sam Duvall

Nerve wracking.

27:54

Ashtyn Morris

For those unfamiliar with attending tennis matches, can you explain the incredible value you receive when purchasing a morning or evening session? Do you get just one match or can you see multiple matches?

28:07

Sam Duvall

Yeah, great question. So especially in the early rounds, like the first three, four days, there's. Because it's a 32 singles draw as well as a doubles draw. There's multiple. We have three match courts. So, like, from, you know, 11:00 a.m. There's three matches. There's three matches going on the same time, like, for 5 hours. Right. So, like, it's tremendous value. You can kind of bounce around to the different matches. If you want to go check out this player from this country on match court two, you can do that. There's also going to be the WTA trialing some like more fan movement stuff within the game. So like on the side of the courts, like you don't have to wait till a changeover. Like you can like freely move. Oh, that's big. Which will be interesting.

28:44

Sam Duvall

Like we are on like aluminum bleachers that we're building. So hopefully it won't be too loud for the players. But I think it's where the sport needs to go. And so the WTA is doing what they can to try all these different efforts. I think we'll be restricted behind the court when it's like right in the field of view of the players. But yeah, it's, the early rounds is an amazing value. You can literally watch tennis for six, 7 hours, you know, and a lot of people do. So, yeah, I think that's really cool.

29:09

Ashtyn Morris

And what makes tennis really unique, because if you buy, just say, you know, football tickets for the Browns, it's great. It's a couple hours, but it's one game. But in terms of tennis, you're getting, you can see multiple matches from the top players. It's a really great value and it's a lot of fun.

29:25

Sam Duvall

Absolutely. Yeah. And you know, so I think those kind of first few days are where it's at. Like, I mean, I know when I go tournaments, I try to like as a fan, if I'm going, I want to go to the early rounds to see as many match as I can.

29:37

Ashtyn Morris

Yeah, that's what we did with our tickets for Cincinnati. We're going early. So as we discussed earlier, Reg is your presenting partner, which really helps amplify and elevate the tournament's profile and raise the platform for women's professional tennis in Ohio and beyond. So can you talk about some of the new elevated experiences at this year's tournament?

29:58

Sam Duvall

Yeah. So Rocket Mortgage has like they're also the entitlement partner of the kind of our VIP area, which is called the clubhouse. So Rocket Mortgage is definitely going to elevate the experience for guests, you know, from your general admission van to the VIP fan who has a ticket to their kind of new clubhouse that they're entitling and they're just going to bring a whole new level of like just refinement to the event. I mean, it is, we do our best to make it a premium experience, but we are building things from scratch in a parking lot. So, you know, we, I remember in our first year our campaign was the St. Wimbledon or something like that. So, like, you know, you need to flow a little bit with. With being out and dressing up a parking lot.

30:37

Sam Duvall

But I think their experiences in working in the various events that they have supported over the years, they're going to just bring a whole new level for us, which is great.

30:46

Ashtyn Morris

Yeah. So, like we've talked about, majority of the players outside of Lorne Davis aren't from Cleveland or might not even be from the US. So obviously, having the tournament here is great exposure for the city of Cleveland. Once the players are here, how do you expose them to all the best parts of the city in a week?

31:05

Sam Duvall

Yeah, I mean, there's not enough time for sure to expose them to all the great parts of the city, but, you know, you'll see players navigate. Like, the Italians will certainly go down to little Italy and check it out. You know, there's a great kind of Slovenian population here that support the Romanians that come out and watch their players. So I feel like the ones, the players that have come back for year four, a lot of them, like, you'll see, like, a lot of players that have played here come back every year and they have a choice not to. So it's, like, really great that they do it. And I think it's because they get to check out parts of the city and there's always a place for them. You know, I feel like to make them feel more at home.

31:40

Sam Duvall

I mean, these players travel for four, five, six weeks at a time, so it can get lonely out there. But, like, that's what Cleveland and the midwest is great about, I think, is making people feel comfortable and making people feel like they belong no matter where they're from. And Cleveland certainly does that. I mean, it did it for me when I moved here. I think players just love it here. So there's so many different things. We put together a guide for them, like, you know, restaurant picks, things like that. But I think they kind of get out and explore. Cause there is some dead time for them, you know, in between matches or after practice, and they stay downtown, which is quite convenient to get around. So, yeah, I think that's one thing Cleveland does great, is just, like, making these players feel.

32:20

Sam Duvall

Feel at home.

32:21

Ashtyn Morris

Yeah. And especially, too, because we are a sports city, that there's a lot of energy. I'm not sure if the Guardians are playing when they're here, but downtown, for the most part, always has a pretty fun vibe. But if there's anything going on, even if it's not a sporting event. If there's any type of event, it's bumping. I mean, our office is downtown, so we can feel it.

32:38

Sam Duvall

Yep, for sure.

32:40

Ashtyn Morris

Awesome. So we've talked at length today about why everyone, not just Clevelanders, should come out to tennis and the land this August 17 through the 24th, as you'll get to see some of the top WTA players up close and personal while enjoying a fun day or night out of. So my last question for you is, what is the number one reason why someone should come out this year and experience tennis in the land for themselves?

33:04

Sam Duvall

The number one reason is if you're a sports fan, big sports fan, casual sports fan, this event is unlike any other sporting event that you've been to in Cleveland. Just, it's outdoors, multiple matches, kind of a festive atmosphere. The venue's incredible. Being outside in the summer. Yeah, I can't beat it. Check it out, everyone.

33:28

Ashtyn Morris

Go. So before we end today's episode, I always like to ask our guests some of my favorite rapid fire questions. So these are easy, though. All right, are you ready?

33:38

Sam Duvall

Ready.

33:38

Ashtyn Morris

Who is your favorite tennis player of all time?

33:42

Sam Duvall

Murat Safin.

33:45

Ashtyn Morris

I would not have guessed that, but I love that.

33:47

Sam Duvall

Check him out. Look him up. He's amazing.

33:50

Ashtyn Morris

Favorite grand slam Australian Open. I love that. Great tournament. Favorite tennis tournament, Indian Wells. I want to go so bad.

34:01

Sam Duvall

It's pretty special.

34:02

Ashtyn Morris

I'm going to transition to some Cleveland base questions. Favorite Cleveland restaurant, laobatross. Nice. And favorite Cleveland coffee shop, rising star, Van Aiken. Yeah, we've been getting that one a lot recently.

34:18

Sam Duvall

Okay.

34:18

Ashtyn Morris

I love that.

34:19

Sam Duvall

It's a good one.

34:20

Ashtyn Morris

Well, thank you, Sam, so much for coming on today. As we wrap things up, where can listeners find you if they want to connect? And where can they learn more about tennis and land?

34:30

Sam Duvall

Yeah, great. Thanks for having me. More info on tennysonland.com. More info on the company topnotchmanagement.com and thanks for supporting this event. Other events that we're doing and. Yeah, thanks. Listening great.

34:41

Ashtyn Morris

Thank you.

34:41

Sam Duvall

Thank you.