Tennis event brings Grand Slam champions, former champions to Macon

The W.L. Amos Sr. Tennis Classic makes its return to the Mercer campus Oct. 22 with another deep and talented field.

“Every year, I’m blown away by the list of players that want to come to Macon and play in our event,” tournament director and Mercer tennis head coach Eric Hayes said.

For the first time in the history of the tournament, a former Grand Slam singles champion is entered in the field in Francesca Schiavone of Italy. Schiavone, who has been ranked as high as No. 4 in the world, won the 2010 French Open singles title.

Kateryna Bondarenko won the W.L. Amos Sr. Tennis Classic in 2014, and she will be in the field with her sister, Alona. They teamed up to win the 2008 Australian Open doubles championship.

Defending tournament champion Kayla Day and former champions Rebecca Peterson and Anna Tatishvili are also entered.

In its fifth year, the W.L. Amos Sr. Tennis Classic has moved up to a USTA Pro Circuit 80K event, with a 32-player singles draw and 16 doubles teams.

This story was originally published October 9, 2017 at 5:10 PM with the headline "Tennis event brings Grand Slam champions, former champions to Macon."