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The Bainbridge-Decatur County Recreation Authority (BDCRA) hosted the GRPA state tennis tournament Wednesday. 

Fifty-eight athletes ages eight to 18 competed at the Bill Reynolds Tennis Center in singles, doubles and mixed doubles formats. The tournament saw more than 80 tennis matches between all formats.

Wednesday’s tournament was the first time the rec authority has hosted the event. Mark Gonzales, the BDCRA Director of Racquets, organized the event.

“I thought it ran really smoothly,” Gonzales said. “To have a little over 80 matches played in a day,… that doesn’t happen every day.”

The tournament saw players from two GRPA districts. Colquitt County and Decatur County represented District 2. 

Appling County, Bacon County, Douglas-Coffee County, Jeff Davis County, Pierce County, Ware County and Wayne County represented District 3. 

The event ran from 9:15 a.m. – 6 p.m. 

The Recreation Authority’s facilities contributed to the tournament’s success. BDCRA Community Development Manager Ana Baty said the tennis center helped the rec authority secure the tournament’s hosting rights.

“We had to bid on this tournament at a state athletic meeting, so I just kind of went up there and told them about our facilities, and we won the bid,” Baty said. “We have some of the nicest facilities in the state of Georgia. It’s not a hard sell.”

The tennis center is outfitted with 14 lit tennis courts with covered benches, two pickleball courts — with 12 more in construction — and a two-story clubhouse with locker rooms, showers, concessions and a pro shop.