Tennis Player Spared In New Zealand Quake

A Palm Desert man competing in a tennis tournament in earthquake ravaged Christchurch, New Zealand was uninjured and working to come back home, a family member confirmed Tuesday.

Michael Fedderly Jr. left for New Zealand last Thursday to compete in the Fred Perry Cup Men's 50 and over. Monday's 6.3-magnitude earthquake toppled buildings and killed as many as 65 people, according to news reports.

"He is fine,'' his sister-in-law Sarah Fedderly told Patch.com. "We don’t have very much contact, but we do know that he is OK. He was under the impression that they were going to cancel the tournament and that they were going to be sending them home soon.''

She said her brother-in-law was supposed to be there for 10 days. Details were scarce as he had only managed a short phone call.

"The hotel that he was in was damaged,'' Fedderly said. "They were moving people out. That’s all we really know."

He works as a tennis pro at the Thunderbird Country Club in Rancho Mirage and was expected to return as early as Sunday.

Fedderly was competing in an event that is the senior tennis equivalent of the Davis Cup and Fed Cup. The top American amateur tennis players represent their countries in men’s and women’s age groups from 35 to 55-plus. This year’s event was set for Feb. 21-26, in Christchurch, New Zealand.

The International Tennis Federation cancelled the four Cups scheduled to be played in Christchurch because of severe damage to the tennis facilities, according to a news release. 

Check back for more on this developing story.