Missed Email Sends Tennis Pro To Winnetka Instead Of Wimbledon

WINNETKA, IL — The top-ranked tennis player competing at the Nielson Pro Tennis Championship this week had planned on competing at Wimbeldon instead. But because of a missed email, Tim Smyczek, ranked No. 121 in the world, found himself at the A.C. Nielsen Tennis Center in Winnetka instead of the All England Club in London, The New York Times reported.

Smyczek, 30, accidentally failed to register for the Wimbledon qualifying rounds because he did not read all the way through a weekly email of tournament entry deadlines sent by his agent, he told the Times, describing it as a "tough lesson to learn."

He wound up competing on the North Shore after being unable to snag a wild card into Wimbledon or at an ATP tournament event in England the week before, according to the Times. The ATP Challenger Tour is a step below the main tour. Players in the first round of the Nielson Pro Tennis Championship receive $780, compared to nearly $6,500 for appearing in the first round of qualifying for Wimbledon.

Smyczek contemplated scrapping the European trip altogether amid the disappointment of missing the opportunity to play the Wimbledon qualifier, which he had entered six times before. Smyczek will also miss the United States Open qualifying tournament later this summer because he and his wife are expecting a child — which made his Wimbledon mistake even more difficult to take.

Smyczek went ahead and played the event in the Netherlands and another in Britain before returning to the United States to prepare for coming tournaments, hoping to improve his ranking and possibly gain entry into the United States Open’s main draw.

“When all is said and done, I’ve got to keep trying to make hay in the rankings,” Smyczek said. “This is what I do for a living, and scheduling is all a part of that.”

Smyczek, who was the No. 1 seed heading into the Winnetka competition, lost his first round match against Tommy Paul Monday night.

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