Racquet War was created to offer special tennis events for adults. Their goal is to coordinate well-organized tournaments with high-quality competition while doing everything in our power to exceed players’ expectations. Tennis, being a sport of ultimate class, deserves to be treated as such. Racquet War will bring that class, all while using the newest technologies available to make the weekend as seamless as possible. Playing in a Racquet War event is not just a tournament, it is an experience. It’s an item to check off your bucket list. Come join it and get that checkmark. Tennis tournaments are run the “right” way, by actual tennis players.
Racquet War was started in 2009 by Oakley Foy and Robin Barringer. The first destination tournaments were held once a year at the Saddlebrook Resort just outside of Tampa, FL. Over the next couple of years, Racquet War tried many different formats; NTRP divisions, age divisions, World Team Tennis, and even prize money events in different cities such as Houston and Atlanta.
These tournaments were “kind of” successful but they took off when Oakley developed the Waterfall Bracket format, which is still in use today. It was developed with the players in mind, allowing everyone to play with a partner of their choice; their NTRPs didn’t matter anymore. Offering draws in Women’s and Mixed Doubles and not by division, players don’t have to worry about being forced to play up or down because there aren’t enough people in their division. Finally, all teams are guaranteed a minimum of four matches over the weekend.
Racquet War took a chance and moved its one successful event in Saddlebrook to Amelia Island, FL in 2013. This move seemed to light a fuse and after three years of increasing numbers in Amelia Island in 2016, Racquet War expanded its schedule to Palm Springs, CA. In 2017, they continued to broaden with the addition of the Wild Dunes Resort just outside of Charleston, SC. After such amazing success and overwhelming excitement and demand from the players, Racquet War decided to go all in. 12 different locations in 2018 included San Diego, CA, Kiawah, SC, Scottsdale, AZ, Hilton Head, SC, and Wintergreen, VA.
Entering 2020, there have been over 3,000 unique Racquet War players and over 140 of those players have played in 5 or more events. Racquet War also added a National Championship tournament in Las Vegas for players who built up enough points over the year in 2020. The history of the Racquet War continues to be written on a yearly basis, with not only a lot of great memories but a multitude of great friendships.
