- May 4, 2024
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For some, tennis is just a game, but for those that competed in the 17th annual Observer Challenge Tennis Tournament, it means a little more.
The tournament brought 30 teams and 120 players to the Longboat Key Public Tennis Center for a weekend of friendly competition. The tournament consists of mostly Longboat Key residents, and when teams are formed, so are some new friendships.
That’s what tennis professional Claudiu Retean likes about the tournament.
“It’s a community, friendship tournament,” he said.
Some teams were made of players who didn’t know each other before the tournament. Division one winners Karen and Andy Adams, Karen Rhodes and Chris Wetzig didn’t all know each other before the competition. Karen Adams said they had just met Rhodes when the tournament began and they needed another player.
But, that’s how the tennis center works. It brings a community together.
“Tennis players are all a big family,” Adams said.