Luminaries of tennis’s past and present serve it up for a good cause at the St. Pete Times Forum. Superstars Andy Roddick and Jim Courier headline the Tampa Tennis Classic to raise money for Raymond James Courier’s Kids, which supports the First Serve program that reaches out to inner city youth to embrace not only tennis, but academics and life skills. Joining them is James Blake, the true hometown hero of this group, as he calls Tampa home and trains at the Saddlebrook Academy. Representing the women are Vera Zvonareva, Victoria Azarenka and Rennae Stubbs. Zvonareva and Azarenka ended 2009 ranked 9th and 7th, respectively, in the WTA rankings, while Stubbs made her mark on the doubles circuit, earning the top spot in the rankings in 2000. Courier, the evening’s host, conquered
This article appears in Mar 17-23, 2010.