MACON, Ga. — Over 75 professional tennis players will be heading to Macon this weekend to compete in the 11th Mercer Tennis Classic. Competition for the tournament is set to begin on Monday, with finals on Sunday, Oct. 20.
Three of the world’s top 100 players are slated to play in the tournament. Including the top seed, Renata Zarazua. She is currently ranked 72nd in the country. The Mexico native has been playing the game since she was seven.
This isn’t her first time in Macon. She has played in the classic for five years.
“I get a lot of experience this tournament every year. It's pretty strong because, you know, it's October, end of the year, everyone is kind of pushing to finish up the year,” Zarazua said. “Well, in rankings. So it's always a really tough tournament. So yeah, I'm just trying to prepare for it.”
Eric Hayes is the founder of the Mercer Tennis Classic and the men’s tennis coach at Mercer. He said it is a great opportunity for the athletes.
“She doesn't need points. She's in it," he said. "But there's some players - like No. 110 in the world - that if they do well here, that'll put them in that field. In Australia, and you lose first round in Australia, you pocket $80,000. So, it's really important."
The tournament has grown a lot since it started at the $20,000 level.
“It’s special this year, because we're at $100,000 level, and there's only three in the whole country like that,” Hayes said.
The classic has a great impact on business owners in Macon. Hayes said one of his favorite parts is giving back to the community.
“We do a lot of kids clinics for children that might not get to play a lot of tennis, and that's one of my favorite of my favorite things,” Hayes said. “That's as important as handing out the trophy to the 50th ranked player in the world, seeing those kids and getting them a meal and giving them a t-shirt. It's really, really important.”