Kraft Tennis, Maharaj Tennis and the Yulee Tennis Foundation sponsored an afternoon of round robin tennis on Jan. 29, 2012, in support of the Barnabas Center Food Pantry in Fernandina Beach, Fla.

 

Fifty-six players in three divisions at two different tennis sites took to the courts and donated groceries and funding for the food pantry, resulting in 722 lbs. of groceries.

 

"The entry fee to the event was one bag of nonperishable food items, and it seems that entrants were extremely generous in their donations this year," said event organizer Michele Maharaj. "The food pantry tennis event has been an annual occurrence since Maharaj Tennis came to town in 2006."

 

In 2011, Kraft Tennis joined forces with Maharaj Tennis and the Yulee Tennis Foundation to sponsor the event as part of their community outreach programming.  For 2012, Kraft Tennis was once again a host site for the event, joined by the Ritz Carlton.

 

For more information on the event e-mail Michele Maharaj at michelemaha@msn.com.

 

 

 

The University of Florida in Gainesville will be the lone Florida host site for the annual Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) Men’s Kick-Off Weekend, featuring 60 schools across the U.S. competing on Jan. 27-30, 2012.

 

The schools will be competing for 15 vacant spots at the ITA National Men's Team Indoor Championship, to be hosted next month by the University of Virginia. The 15 universities hosting ITA Kick-Off Weekend events were designated as host sites in order of their year-end 2011 Campbell/ITA team ranking.

 

The Gators in their regional will host Miami, Wake Forest and New Mexico.

 

Having lost their No. 1 singles player to graduation and their No. 3 singles player to the pros, the Florida Gators have found other sources for success during the fall. Spencer Newman and Andrew Butz, who each spent time at No. 6 last season, earned Top 125 singles rankings earlier this month. In doubles, all three of Florida's teams are ranked nationally, led by No. 4 Nassim Slilam and Billy Federhofer.

 

Like its cross-state rival, the University of Miami is going through its own transition phase. The Hurricanes' top five singles players from 2010-11 were seniors, meaning the Miami underclassmen must step up in their opening match of the ITA Kick-Off Weekend against Wake Forest.

 

Danny Kreyman leads the Demon Deacons, while nationally-ranked singles and doubles player Jadon Phillips hopes to help New Mexico lead an upset over Florida in the opener.

 

Other Florida schools competing during the weekend are South Florida at the Los Angeles regional hosted by the University of Southern California, and Florida State at the Waco regional hosted by Baylor.

 

For specific dates and times of each match during ITA Kick-Off Weekend, please visit www.ITAtennis.com.

 

 

 

Former No. 1 and 1998 French Open champion Carlos Moya has replaced Mats Wilander in the ATP Champions event at the Delray Beach ITC, which begins at the Delray Beach Stadium & Tennis Center on Feb. 24, 2012.

 

Wilander, who has played in the ITC's first two ATP Champions Tour events, sustained a kidney laceration following a fall in his apartment at the Australian Open and will be taking time off from his playing and teaching activities to recuperate.

 

Moya, a member of Spain's 2004 winning Davis Cup team, finished first in the ATP Champion's Tour 2011 final rankings. The Spaniard will play fellow Grand Slam champion Pat Cash in the opening match of the 2012 ITC.

 

Reserved and box seats are 50 percent off for opening night, with Ivan Lendl meeting Jimmy Arias in the nightcap. To purchase tickets call (561) 330-6000, or order online at www.YellowTennisBall.com.

 

 

 

The Sarasota Open men’s USTA Pro Circuit event, which takes place each April at the Tennis Gardens at Longboat Key Club, has announced the addition of a 16-player women’s event during the Sarasota Open.

 

With an initial prize purse of $10,000 and wildcard entries, the tournament will draw some of the top female talent.

 

"We are excited to be announcing the addition of a ladies tournament during the 2012 Sarasota Open," said Tony Driscoll, tournament co-director. "With the addition of this invitational tournament, we bring the tennis audience a rare opportunity to see some of the top-ranked male and female talent in the game today playing at one event."

 

For more information on 2012 Sarasota Open events go to www.sarasotaopen.org.