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The Haverhill Recreation Department is again planning its annual Winnekenni Castle Tennis Tournament in July.
After the tournament, which started in the 1930s or 40s, went away about 8 years ago due to bad court conditions the Haverhill Recreation Department was able to bring back the city tradition last summer.
Haverhill Recreation Director Benjamin Delaware says his department is hoping to increase participation to between 30 and 40 people this year. He says while much of the tournament information came from word-of-mouth last year, the department plans to use social media to gain more participants in 2026. Last year’s tournament participation spread beyond Haverhill, as one the winners made the trip down from Connecticut to play.
Last year, the tournament featured only men’s singles and doubles. Longtime tournament organizer Peter Lynch, whose father John Lynch won the doubles tournament in 1954, says he’s been talking to women who expressed interest in participating. He says the tournament often brings many skilled competitors.
“I have a list of the tournament champions since I’ve been running it and a lot of them have been scholarship players in college. We do have some very high-quality players, and we have in the past,” Lynch said. “The guy that won it last year played at Wheaton College and other guys we’ve had in the past have all been very good players,” he added.
Lynch added why he enjoys the tournament and how he believes it benefits the city.
“Sometimes you hear a negative perception of Haverhill. A lot of people from out of town come to Haverhill and they see Winnekenni and they see what a nice place it is and, if nothing else, they leave the city with a more positive impression of Haverhill.”
Delaware says he hopes this year’s tournament will help to bring back Haverhill’s adult tennis participation. He says child participation has been making a comeback since the COVID-19 pandemic, but adult participation has room to grow.
Categories open for registration include men’s singles and doubles, women’s singles and doubles, mixed double and teen’s 13 and up singles.
The tournament is set to take place Saturday, July 25, to Sunday, July 26, from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., with registration closing midnight of July 24.