Ultimate Tennis Player Matt Litsky
Family Man and Attorney Finds Time for Tennis, the Game He Loves
World-class tennis amateur Matt Litsky is a family man and attorney who satisfies his tennis fix by playing Ultimate Tennis and USTA Tourneys in Southwest Florida.
It isn’t often you encounter a tennis player of national prominence that beat balls against a wall in Bronx, NY. Yet, this is how Matthew Litsky, No.8 on the United States Tennis Association’s (USTA) 12-month National Rolling Standings List for the men’s 40 division, spent much of his early tennis years. Litsky’s dad, Robert Litsky, introduced him to tennis when he was eight-years-old, but according to Litsky, he didn’t take lessons or participate in an organized program until his final year in USTA junior divisions. Even so, he achieved a national junior ranking in the top twenty before joining the tennis team at Columbia University from 1983 – 1987.
Litsky Dominates Ultimate Tennis League
One of the premier players in Florida’s Ultimate Tennis League (UTL), Litsky first played UTL in 1995, winning the men’s 6.0 title that year. He has played the UTL the past five years, going 53-3 in matches played. Litsky has been a perennial winner at all levels, from his collegiate 36-0 Ivy League dual match record at Columbia, to his 4-0 international tally for the US during the International Tennis Federation’s Tony Trabert Cup in Durban, South Africa in 2006.
Litsky and Tennis: On Again, Off Again
Litsky’s path to being a top national and international amateur has been oft interrupted. Prompted by former teammates and Bid Goswami, his coach at Columbia, Litsky played satellite events in Europe and Asia during school breaks. His success overseas prompted him to return to Europe after graduation in 1987. Although he rose in the professional ranks to No.324 in singles and No.286 in doubles, life in the pro-tennis trenches lost its luster and Litsky retreated from tennis. Litsky recalls, “I dropped my rackets in February of ’88, and other than one ill-advised attempt like four months later, after not having played at all, to play the qualifying for a Challenger tournament, I didn’t play tennis again for seven years. I literally didn’t touch a racket for seven years.”
Ultimate Tennis Lures Litsky Back
During that hiatus, Litsky attended and graduated from New York Law School, practiced law in New York City, started a family with wife Michelle, and moved to Tampa, Florida in 1993 (he now lives in St. Petersburg, Florida). Former playing partners and year-round tennis potential with the UTL lured Litsky back to tennis. In 1995, he played his first UTL season and won the men’s 6.0 championship. According to Litsky, “K-Swiss [Ultimate Tennis] peaked my interest back into tennis. The best thing about [Ultimate Tennis] is meeting people and finding guys to play with.” Litsky now has more playing partners than he needs.
After his UTL debut in 1995, Litsky played sporadically for the next “four or five years.” But tennis is like an old flame that always entices you. While “hanging around” the Harbour Island Athletic Club with son Nick (now 12), a budding tournament player, Litsky’s competitive fires were rekindled. He returned to the UTL in 2003.
Litsky on National and International Stage
Upon the suggestion of an acquaintance, Litsky began playing national USTA senior events in 2005, and after a 9-2 record in national grass, clay and hard court events, he finished 2005 ranked No.18 in the country. That performance earned him a berth on the US National Men’s 40 team. Last year’s 14-4 record in national-event matches landed Litsky a ranking of No.6 in the country in Men’s 40s, and a world ranking as high as No.8.
Matt Litsky, Attorney and Ultimate Tennis Player
A practicing attorney partner with Phelps Dunbar, LLP, with another budding tennis player (Peter, 9), and a set schedule for tennis, Litsky is having a hard time playing a full UTL season. However, his relationship with the league is like one with an old friend that he can’t let go. UTL Director Scott Nunn hopes Litsky maintains his friendship with the UTL, because, like television’s USA Network, “characters are welcome” in the UTL. Along with the same preparation and tenacity that he employs in his law practice, Matt Litsky brings his unique character to the court, from the UTL to international competition.
