By MICHAEL BOYLAN
Sports Editor

The Peachtree National Bank USTA Women's Challenger event, the oldest women's tournament in the state, will bring world class tennis to the Peachtree City starting this weekend. The action will kick off with qualifying beginning on Sunday afternoon. The main draw and the qualifying rounds are filled with “grand slam” caliber players from all over the world. “Grand slam” players are those who have participated in at least one of the grand slam events.

During the week, there will be a day session that begins at 10 a.m. and an evening session that begins at 6:30 p.m. Saturday will have a day session only beginning at 10 a.m. and the finals will begin on Sunday at 1 p.m.

The Challenger lost some star quality when Alexandra Stevenson and Kristina Brandi both pulled out of the tournament. Stevenson aggravated a shoulder injury during her tremendous showing at Wimbledon and will take the time off to heal. Brandi, a winner of the recent Heineken Open, will also be unavailable to play.

There are still plenty of promising players, most notably in Canada's Jana Nejedly. Nejedly is currently ranked 85 and is certain to give an aggressive showing during the week long tournament.

The international flavor of the players certainly adds to the excitement of the action. Of the top 25 players in the main draw, 14 of the young women are from other countries. Australia has four players entered in the main draw; Annabel Elwood, Evie Dominikovic, Lisa McShea, and Cindy Watson. The girls are only separated by a total of 56 places in the world rankings and arefamiliar not only with their style of play but the play of many of the other girls.

On a local level, Lindsay Lee of Norcross has made the qualigying round. She is currently ranked 291 in the WTA and looks forward to putting on a good display in her home state.

Though the tournament action is sure to be supberb, there are plenty of other events during the week to draw and entertain the crowds. There will be a celebrity pro-am on Monday evening, where local celebrities will take on the entrants of the Challenger. The Pro-Am is scheduled to begin at 6:30.

On Wednesday, the Mike Patton Auto Mall “One Point High School Tournament” will begin. Over 100 area students will participate, trying to earn their way to the final four on Sunday. The finals for the one point tournament will be played between the singles final and the doubles final of the Challenger event.

The Holiday Inn Hotel and Suites will host a “Ladies Double Clinic and Lunch” at 11 a.m. on Friday. Beth Choate and Dot Cobb will offer tips on how to energize your doubles game. Lunch will follow and prizes will be awarded. Space for the clinic is limited but , like all of the other events that coincide with the tournament, there is no cost. To register for the clinic, call 770-486-9474.

Saturday may be the biggest day of the entire week. The players will be closing in on the finals and it will also be USTA “Let's get into the game” day. There will be face painting and caricature artists, balloon artists and clowns, as well as clinics and activities to spark children's interest in the game of tennis.

An event of this magnitude is wonderful for the community. Very rarely do cities the size of Peachtree City hold world class sporting events with such a wide number of players from other countries represented. It gives the area a chance to show their hospitality to others, as well as a chance to enjoy outstanding athletic performances.

The Peachtree National Bank USTA Women's Challenger is also a benefit for the David L. Harris Foundation. All the proceeds from ticket sales will go to the foundation. The foundation exists to help families with children who have terminal cancer and was started by the Harris family several years ago.

This is the second consecutive year that the Peachtree City Tennis Center, USTA and the Harris Foundation have worked together.

Tickets are available for the tournament at the Peachtree City Tennis Center as well as Canterbury's, T.Buggs, and Elephant's Tale in Peachtree City. They are also available at FayetteSports and the Fayette Book Shop in Fayetteville. For more information on the tournament, call 770-486-9474.

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