Oracle U.S. Tennis Awards go to Eubanks, Di Lorenzo

For the second consecutive year, Oracle Corporation awarded its annual US Tennis Award to two tennis professionals, Francesca Di Lorenzo and Chris Eubanks, at the BNP Paribas Open. Oracle Corp. CEO Mark Hurd and tennis Hall-of-Famer Tracy Austin presented each winner today with a $100,000 grant to help develop their tennis careers.

The two young professionals were selected by a six-member advisory council comprised of former tennis professionals and executives. The Intercollegiate Tennis Association, the governing body of college tennis, will administer the grants.

“Chris and Francesca are terrific players and very deserving of the awards,’’ said Oracle’s Hurd. “Our goal with these awards is to help young players as they transition into professional tennis.’’

Di Lorenzo, 20, turned professional last year after playing two years at Ohio State University, where she won the 2017 NCAA women’s doubles title. Di Lorenzo finished the 2017 collegiate season as the No. 1 singles and No. 3 doubles player in the Intercollegiate Tennis Association National Rankings.

“I can’t tell you how much this means to me,’’ Di Lorenzo said. “It’s an honor to be selected, and I guarantee that this will help me improve my game.’’

Eubanks, 21, also turned pro last year after playing tennis at Georgia Tech University from 2014-2017. Eubanks learned tennis through a community program in Atlanta and last year received the ITA Arthur Ashe Sportsmanship Award. He finished the 2017 college seasons as the No. 8 singles and No. 30 doubles players.

“Playing tennis professionally has been a dream of mine since I was a kid,’’ Eubanks said. “It’s great that the people at Oracle understand how hard it can be to move from college to the pro circuit. This is a big help for my career.’’

Eubanks and Di Lorenzo follow on the heels of two other young players, Danielle Collins and McKenzie “Mackie’’ McDonald, who received the inaugural awards last year at the BNP Paribas Open.