Six Doubles Teams Crowned Champions at LITM June Tennis Challenge In The Hamptons
The 2026 Long Island Tennis Magazine (LITM) Summer Series presented by Orlin & Cohen Orthopedic Group kicked off the season in style, in the Hamptons, with the Long Island Tennis Magazine June Tennis Challenge.
The event was completely sold-out and the packed house provided for a great atmosphere both on and off the courts. This one-of-a-kind event features fierce on-court competition across 18 Har-Tru courts on the sprawling Quogue campus. Doubles pairings battled it out in round-robin competition that fed into the playoff rounds. The LITM Challenge tournaments, which have been operating for over a decade, are well known for it’s professionalism and organization as well for having great tennis at all levels! Additionally the amenities off the court are a LITM Challenge staple.
On this day, players were treated to an expansive catered lunch spread which included a variety of heroes, side salads, pizza, pasta, garlic knots, brownies, cookies and fruit as well as a very popular Happy Hour featuring the Michele-A-Rita and the Don-Colada among other options.
“This is always one of the best tournaments out east, hands down,” said Agne Rauskauskas. “I’ve been playing in them for quite a few years now. The whole atmosphere is amazing, there is competitive tennis and such nice people. It was a beautiful day.”
Rauskauskas paired up with Lindsay Katz and the duo captured the title in the Women’s Doubles 7.0 – 7.5 division as they defeated Shannon Becker & Aki Bowman 6-1 in the championship.
“This was our first time playing together, and we’ll definitely be coming back,” said Katz. “This tournament was so well-organized and everything ran smoothly.”
Carissa Orozco & Joanne Genzone, who captured the title in the Women’s Doubles 6.0 – 6.5 division, shared a similar sentiment.
“The people here were so nice and friendly,” said Orozco. “The tennis was great, and I feel like we were able to make some new friends today.”
The duo won a thrilling championship match as they defeated Amy Gillen & Jana Schmidt 7-6(5) to claim the title.
“I love playing here, the location is beautiful,” said Genzone. “We hadn’t played a tournament together before, but decided to team up and it worked!”
In the highest Women’s Doubles level at the event, Barbara Mueller & Theresa Winter had to dig deep to defeat Marilena Discala & Pam Lumpe and win the 8.0 – 8.5 division.
“We were down 1-4 in the finals,” said Mueller. “We went back to a simple game plan, and made sure to pick each other up and just go for it.”
The pairing went for their shots which helped spark a comeback and force a tiebreaker in which they won seven of the nine points to win 7-6(2) and claim the title.
“My favorite part of today was getting to play with my partner here,” said Mueller. “We always have such a great time at these events, and today was no different.”
Sticking with the theme of the day, the Men’s Doubles 7.0 – 7.5 division also came down to a tiebreaker in the finals to determine the winner. Joe Mead & Steve Subject battled past Christian Cedarstrom & Austin Walters 7-6(6) to win the championship.
“We hit the ball over the net one more time than they did, and that’s really what it came down to,” Subject said.
It was a back-and-forth tiebreaker that could have gone either way. Mead & Subject jumped ahead 3-0 only to see their opponents win the next four points. At 6-6, Mead & Subject won the next two points to claim victory.
“We had a match point at 6-5 and lost it, but luckily we were able to regroup and win the next two,” said Mead.
Subject added:
“This was a great tournament, and it’s extremely well-run,” said Subject. “The directors Michelle [Stoerback] and David [Sickmen] do a great job, and the food and drinks are wonderful.”
Samir Singh & Vir Singh started slow but played their best tennis in the latter stages of the event, ultimately capturing the title in the Men’s Doubles 8.0 – 8.5 division, defeating Raimundas Rakauskas & Peder Davis 6-2 in the finals.
“I had to get more consistent because in the beginning I felt like I was missing too many serves and groundstrokes,” said Samir. “We got it going though. He was able to hit well from the baseline and I tried to come in and volley as best I could.”
Vir said the two have games that complement each other which helped them.
“We work together well because I like hitting forehands, so I took that side, and he likes backhands, so he took that side. It gave us great court coverage.”
In the Mixed Doubles 8.0 – 9.0 division, Francois Vernet & Sally Pillay defeated Lily Tang & Roman Del Castillo 6-4 in the championship.
“I think we just tried to relax and play our best tennis. We had a little of the Don-Colada drink which helped us calm down a bit,” Vernet said jokingly.
“We actually said to each other during the match, ‘we have nothing to lose, so let’s just play our best and have some fun’,” said Pillay. “This was our first time playing together. He was so easy going, and we enjoyed playing together.”
The LITM June Tennis Challenge was again sold-out, and set the stage for a great summer of events ahead. The next Long Island Tennis Magazine on the schedule is Saturday, September 12 (registration is available at LongIslandTennisMagazine.com/Events/SeptemberChallenge) once again at Sportime Quogue.
LITM will also be hosting a charity tennis event in late July, one of its popular Courts & Cocktails outings, with an announcement of the location and event specifics coming very soon. In addition the entire Summer LITM will host events across many racket sports for all ages and levels. Check out LITennisMag.com/Events for the latest information on all of our events!
“These tournaments have become almost like family reunions of sorts, as many of the players have become friends of mine and it’s a very welcoming atmosphere on and off the courts for everyone. As people arrive, all we see on the pool deck is hugs and smiles. Some players bring their own ‘fans’ to support them, and everyone involved with the event works together to provide a vibe that makes the Long Island Tennis Magazine Challenges stand out as the premier adult tennis tournament in the area,” Sickmen added. We all do everything we can to ensure everyone has the best possible experience. We pay a lot of attention to the small details and we continue to learn from each event, but I want to thank my Co-Director Michelle Stoerback, our main sponsor Orlin & Cohen Orthopedic Group, our beautiful host facility Sportime Quogue and of course all of our supporting players for their part. Hearing that people drove four hours to play, seeing people stay for hours post-event, and getting the feedback we received has us very appreciative and ready for more.”
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