CARSON, Calif., May 14, 2007 - The USTA today announced that former UCLA standout, Kevin Kim of Newport Beach, Calif., headlines the competitors for the 2007 Countrywide Classic USTA Men's Challenger, a $50,000 USTA Pro Circuit event, at The Home Depot Center, May 28-June 3.

The tournament is the eighth of 24 USTA Pro Circuit men's challengers scheduled for the 2007 season. The event returns to the USTA Pro Circuit after its inaugural year in 2005. This men's challenger is combined with the women's challenger, also slated for May 28-June 3 at The Home Depot Center. The prize purse for this tournament is $50,000, and more importantly, players will earn valuable points on the ATP Tour.

Currently No. 124, Kim is the highest ranked of the 18 men who received direct acceptance into the 32-player main draw. Thirty-two players will compete in the singles qualifying tournament May 26-27, for eight other berths. Doubles qualifying is slated for Sunday, May 27.

As a standout at UCLA, Kim now owns six USTA Pro Circuit titles, including the $50,000 Challenger in Dallas in 2006. In Kim's only year as a Bruin in 1996-97, he was an All-America in singles and doubles and helped his squad to a USTA/ITA National Team Indoor title and reach the NCAA semifinals. He turned pro following his freshman year.

Also among the American contingent is No. 161 Bobby Reynolds of Acworth, Ga. Reynolds won the doubles title with world No. 3 Andy Roddick at last year's US Open Series event in Indianapolis. Reynolds owns four singles and nine doubles titles. Ranked No. 183 at the time, Reynolds upset No. 83 ranked American Robert Kendrick at the Naples Challenger, April 30.

Other Californian's scheduled for the main draw are No. 172 Zack Fleishman of Playa Del Rey, No. 198 Sam Warburg of Sacramento and No. 272 Brian Wilson of San Marcos. Fleishman, who spent one year at UCLA (1999), was runner-up at the $50,000 Challenger in Valencia and owns six professional titles. Warburg, a four-time All-American at Stanford, recently won his ninth doubles title when he partnered with Harel Levy at Valencia. Wilson advanced through qualifying at this year's Australian Open (lost in first round to Feliciano Lopez).

The complete men's entry list is available online at www.usta.com/carsonchallenger. Information on the women participating in the Challenger will be released on Wednesday, May 16.

The 2007 Men's and Women's Challenger event is a partnership between the Southern California Tennis Association (SCTA), USTA, Countrywide Classic and AEG, owners and operators of The Home Depot Center. This event marks the first time the SCTA, USTA and AEG have jointly promoted a co-ed Pro Circuit tournament. The Challenger tournament is free to the public Monday, May 28 - Saturday, June 2. On Sunday, June 3, tickets to the finals are $5.00. For more information, please visit www.usta.com/carsonchallenger.

ABOUT THE HOME DEPOT CENTER:

The Home Depot Center is southern California's home of world-class competition and training facilities for amateur, Olympic, collegiate and professional athletes. The $150 million, privately financed facility was developed and is operated by AEG on a 125-acre site on the campus of California State University, Dominguez Hills (CSUDH) in Carson, California. The Home Depot Center features an 8,000-seat tennis stadium, a 27,000-seat stadium for soccer, rugby and other athletic competitions and outdoor concerts, a 10,000-seat facility for track & field and lacrosse, the ADT Event Center (a 2,450-seat indoor velodrome for cycling) and other facilities for softball, baseball, beach volleyball, basketball and other sports. The Home Depot Center is home to three professional sports teams - Major League Soccer's Los Angeles Galaxy and Chivas USA, and Major League Lacrosse's (MLL) Los Angeles Riptide. Named an Official U.S. Olympic Training Site, The Home Depot Center is also home of the United States Tennis Association's (USTA) High Performance Training Center and is the national team training headquarters for the U.S. Soccer Federation (USSF). The David Beckham Academy for youth soccer, Andre Agassi's Safe Passage All-Stars at-risk youth tennis program and Athletes' Performance's training center for elite and professional athletes are all based at The Home Depot Center. The Home Depot Center has additionally been designated official training sites for USA Cycling and USA Track & Field. For more information, please visit www.homedepotcenter.com.

ABOUT THE USTA PRO CIRCUIT:

With 95 tournaments throughout the country and prize money ranging from $10,000 to $100,000, 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. Last year, 1,089 men and women from 74 countries competed on the USTA Pro Circuit for approximately $3.2 million in prize money and valuable ATP and WTA Tour ranking points. Maria Sharapova, Andy Roddick, James Blake, Justine Henin, Nicole Vaidisova, Andy Murray and David Nalbandian are among today's top stars who began their careers on the USTA Pro Circuit. The USTA Pro Circuit is world-class tennis administered on the local level and played on local tennis courts as part of the fabric of communities nationwide -- an opportunity for current and new fans to experience the excitement and intensity of the professional game in their neighborhood.

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For more information contact:

Tim Curry, Senior Manager, Publicity, Professional Tennis, USTA
(914) 696-7077, curry@usta.com

Chennelle Miller, Manager, Public Relations, Professional Tennis, USTA
(914) 696-7260, cmiller@usta.com

Adrian Hamblin, Publicity Assistant, Professional Tennis, USTA
(914) 697-2291, hamblin@usta.com