Top-ranked men’s professional tennis players from around the world are battling for rankings in Baton Rouge with the help of University graduate students. A class of graduate students spent this semester helping organize the Baton Rouge Pro Tennis Classic from April 10 to 18, which benefits Cancer Services of Greater Baton Rouge at the Paula G. Manship YMCA. The tournament is one of 22 United States Tennis Association Men’s Pro Circuit Challenger events in the country, according to graduate student and media group member Timothy Rodrigue.”Challenger events are one step below Grand Slam events like Wimbledon and the U.S. Open,” Rodrigue said.The Baton Rouge Pro Tennis Classic is the only tournament working with a university, Rodrigue said.University graduate students were assigned to public relations for the tournament as part of mass communication professor Danny Shipka’s public relations class.”I’ve always been a fan of service learning,” Shipka said, “We can teach a lot of things at LSU, but the best way is through hands-on experience.”The class divided into groups to manage fundraising, media relations, event planning and technology for the event.”It is a graduate class, so I expected more from them,” Shipka said. “Some already had real world experience.”Students had roughly three months to raise $30,000 in funds and to plan events for the week.”It was a difficult but rewarding experience,” said graduate student and fundraising group member Crystal Jackson. “I was one of the few students who didn’t have real world experience.”Students also must complete a final paper on how they would organize and plan the tournament differently based on their experiences this semester.Jackson said classes often felt like business meetings as each group updated progress each week.Students helped plan events like a Player’s Party for competitors, and several in-tournament events like Kid’s Day.”On Kid’s Day, kids who don’t usually have the opportunity to play tennis get to learn from the pros,” said tournament director Kay Willson.Students also helped organize Balls on the Bayou Exhibition where local tennis professionals competed against tournament pros.The tournament originally started as a Future event, the tournament below Challenger events, in 2002 and moved to a Challenger event three years ago, according to Willson.”It’s a rare opportunity to see professional sports in Baton Rouge,” Rodrigue said.Thirty-two athletes will compete for the main singles draw, and 16 teams will compete in doubles throughout the week.Twenty-one pros in the 2010 Australian Open played in past Baton Rouge Pro Tennis Classics, according to Willson.”The best aspect of this tournament is the community feel,” said professional tennis player David Martin. “Volunteers have gone out of their way to help provide anything players need.”For the first time, community members are housing players in the tournament to provide a community connection, Willson said.”It allows players to learn about Baton Rouge culture,” Shipka said.All proceeds from the tournament benefit Cancer Services of Greater Baton Rouge, which provides nutrition and prescription assistance, medical equipment and information to adults and children throughout 10 area parishes. “Any admission paid at the door goes directly to Cancer Services,” Willson said.Admission to the tournament costs $10 per day throughout the week, $20 for the championship rounds Saturday and Sunday and $15 for a week-long pass.A Student’s Day will take place Wednesday, April 14, where any person with a student ID will be admitted to the tournament for free.Willson said she is looking for volunteers to help with the event throughout the week. More information about the Baton Rouge Pro Tennis Classic can be found at www.brprotennisclassic.com.–Contact Grace Montgomery at [email protected]