By J. Fred Sidhu, special to USTA.com
LA QUINTA, CALIF. – When the Florida section men from Sarasota, Fla., arrived at the USTA League Adult 40 & Over 4.5 National Championships, they had someone on their roster that every team would love to have – a former touring tennis professional.
Egan Adams of Palmetto, Fla., played collegiate tennis at Pepperdine University and then competed on the ATP World Tour and ATP Challenger Tour from 1980 through 1985. During his professional tennis career, he made appearances at the US Open and Roland Garros, reaching a career high singles ranking of No. 109 in the world in 1983.
These days, the 57-year-old competes on the ITF Senior Circuit and has captured several gold balls for winning USTA national titles. He has also represented the United States in ITF Senior individual and team championships around the world on multiple occasions.
Adams, a 5.0 player, played in his first USTA League National Championships several years ago in Las Vegas. This weekend marks his second USTA League National Championships, adding yet another impressive accomplishment to his outstanding tennis resume.
“I’m competitive and I enjoy playing. I like the camaraderie of all the players. You go out to dinner and it’s a fun thing,” said Adams. “It’s really nice when the USTA picks locations like this for Nationals. It’s such a nice experience being in a beautiful place like this. How can you beat it? This is like paradise.”
Florida Section team captain Alan Amero said he was is grateful to have an experienced player like Adams competing on his USTA League team.
“He’s had so much world experience, more experience than any of us. He’ll give us a little advice, mostly to calm down and relax because you get pretty wound up in these tennis matches,” said Amero. “His singles and doubles game is so strong. He’s a fun guy, very positive and a good team player. He’s definitely one of the leaders of this team.”