Unseeded Cressy Wins $25K USTA Pro Circuit Tennis Stop in Tallahassee

Cressy (right) and Peniston

Maxime Cressy, a senior at UCLA, won the $25,000 Visit Tallahassee Futures Presented by Hancock Whitney Bank tournament in December, a USTA Pro Circuit Collegiate Series event in Tallahassee played indoors on the campus of Florida State University.

The 21-year-old Frenchman in the all-unseeded final defeated former Memphis player Ryan Peniston of Great Britain 6-4, 7-6(4).

Cressy upset No. 6 seed Diego Hifalgo of Ecuador 6-1, 6-4 in the opening round, and in the quarterfinals ousted No. 4 seed Mark Whitehouse of Great Britain 6-3, 6-1, failing to drop a set throughout the tournament. Peniston toppled No. 1 seed Michael Redlicki of the U.S. 2-6, 7-5, 6-0 in the second round, No. 5 Hady Habib of Lebanon 6-1, 6-3 in the quarterfinals, and No. 3 Jordi Arcanada of the U.S. 6-3, 6-4 in the semifinals.

It’s was Cressy’s first ITF/USTA Pro Circuit singles titles after capturing eight doubles championships in 2018. With the win he is expected to crack the Top 500 for the first time on the ATP rankings. His two results prior to Tallahassee were a runner-up effort at the Futures circuit stop in Waco, Texas, and a semifinal at the Futures stop in Columbus, Ohio.

Arconada and Michael Geerts of Belgium won the doubles title as an unseeded pair, in the final beating unseeded Felix Corwin and Jacob Dunbar 6-3, 7-6(0).

The event also featured a toy/gift drive for the Christmas Connection of Northwest Florida, with all donations going towards children in the Panama City area that were affected by Hurricane Michael last month.

“USTA Florida is a proud sponsor of the Visit Tallahassee Futures tournament at Florida State,” said Bobby York, USTA Florida local adult play coordinator. “We are excited to see professional men’s tennis return to Tallahassee and for the opportunity to help those in the Panhandle affected by Hurricane Michael.”

With more than 90 tournaments hosted annually throughout the country and prize money ranging from $15,000-$125,000, the USTA Pro Circuit is the pathway to the US Open and tour-level competition for aspiring tennis players and a frequent battleground for established professionals.

Andy Murray, Maria Sharapova, John Isner, Sloane Stephens, Kei Nishikori, Victoria Azarenka, and Sam Querrey are among today’s top stars who began their careers on the USTA Pro Circuit. For more info go to www.procircuit.usta.com.