Top 16- and 18-under tennis players from throughout Tennessee will be competing today through Wednesday at Baylor School and Champions Club for berths in the USTA Southern Section junior championships.

The double-elimination state qualifier begins at 8 this morning.

About 15 boys’ and girls’ singles players from each age group will advance to the Southerns later this month. The 16s event will be in Rome, Ga.; the 18s tournament will be in Little Rock, Ark. Doubles will be played at the qualifying tournament, but participants must qualify for the sectional competition in singles.

More than 30 of the 210 participants are from the Chattanooga area, including University of Memphis signee David Henry and University of Tennessee at Chattanooga signee Emily Hangstefer, both of Signal Mountain.

“We have a lot of players in Chattanooga that are certainly among the best in Tennessee,” said tournament director Jason Ontog, who played in the qualifier in 1997, the last time it was held in Chattanooga. “We have a lot of players who will do very well here.”

The tournament was in Nashville the past decade.

“It’s a great event for Chattanooga to host with its history of being a strong tennis city,” Ontog said. “The qualifying used to be here back in the late ’90s when I played, and it’s great to see it come back here. The city’s tennis atmosphere is so good, and everyone’s excited to host it and see it here.”

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