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By RACHEL RAIFORD | Staff Writer

PELHAM – The Pelham High School tennis teams are set to kick off the 2024 season with the annual Frostbite Invitationals at the Pelham Racquet Club.

In cooperation with the city of Pelham, Pelham High School boys and girls tennis teams will welcome several schools from across the state to the tennis center to host the sixth annual event Jan. 26-27.

Trey Simpson, Pelham High School’s Athletic Director, expressed his gratitude to the city and the racquet club for their efforts in planning the tournament.

“The thing we’re the proudest of is that every year there’s a waitlist of teams that want to get into the tournament,” Simpson said. “I think that’s a testament of how good of a job the city of Pelham and the racquet club does at putting on the event along with the coaching staff at Pelham High School.”

The tournament will feature 16 teams from across the state, with all but two bringing both their boys and girls tennis teams to compete in this season-opening tournament.

Of the 16 teams that competed last year, 11 of those teams qualified for the state tournament at the end of the season, setting up an exciting event to kick off a new high school tennis season with some of the state’s best teams.

This year’s tournament will look just as challenging with teams competing this year including Pelham, Hoover, Spain Park, LAMP, Helena, Bob Jones, St. Paul’s Episcopal, Huntsville, Vestavia (boys), Hartselle, Spanish Fort, Pell City (girls), Mountain Brook, Homewood, Jasper, Dothan and Auburn.

“It’s a lot of play in two days, so it’s a great opportunity for coaches and players to see the level of skill on their teams,” Pelham head coach Nathan Fordham said. “These are some of the best high school tennis teams in the state, all playing here in one weekend.”

Each team will play at least four matches, weather permitting. The first match will begin at 1 p.m. on Friday, Jan. 26, with matches continuing through the evening with the players closing out the weekend starting at 8 a.m. on Saturday, Jan. 27.

Play is expected to run all day Saturday assuming weather cooperates. Currently, temperatures are expected to be in the mid 60s for the event. The best team will be determined at the end of the tournament.