The Sixth Annual USA Adult League State Mixed Doubles Championship Tournament will be held this weekend at several area tennis courts.

The action begins at 8:30 a.m. Friday and Saturday and at noon Sunday.

The tournament will take place at the Duncan Park Tennis Courts, Vidalia No. 1 Tennis Courts, Beau Pr\u00E9, the Natchez Youth Center and Trinity School. The finals on Sunday will be at Duncan Park.

&uot;We will have 41 teams and about 410 players from across the state,&uot; said tournament director Noreen Pyron. &uot;There will be representatives from the Mississippi Tennis Association and from the Southern Tennis Association at the tournament.&uot;

Pyron said it’s hard to pick a favorite because &uot;you play within your own region to qualify for this tournament.&uot;

Registration for the tournament will be this afternoon at the Duncan Park Tennis Shop.

Pyron also said there will be five skill levels in this tournament — 5.5; 6.5; 7.5; 8.5; and 9.5.

Only one team from Natchez will be in the tournament and it will be playing in the 6.5 level, Pyron said.

The team will consist of Brenda Johnson (captain), Emily Eidt, Karen Partridge, Karen Blain, Debra Bassi, Bobby Hartness, Mike Pevey, Charles Ferrara, Michael Blain and Chris Masters, said Barbara Ogden of the Duncan Park Tennis Shop.

&uot;I didn’t even know this was the only Natchez team in the tournament until Barbara said something last night (Tuesday),&uot; Johnson said. &uot;We’re tournament tough. I think we’ll do pretty well.&uot;

&uot;I guess you’ve gotta feel good about it,&uot; Pevey said. &uot;I hope we’ll represent Natchez well. I think we’ll have as good a chance as anyone else. Just being here is icing on the cake.&uot;

&uot;It’s great being at home,&uot; Karen Blain said. &uot;You get a lot of hometown support. We’ve got a pretty good chance.&uot;

&uot;It’s an honor for us to be here playing. We had to play a tough match to get here,&uot; Hartness said. &uot;We’ve got a real good chance. We don’t have any weak spots.&uot;

&uot;The major sponsor (of the tournament) is Stokes Distributors,&uot; Ogden said.

Ralph Tedder, the director of the City of Natchez Recreation Department, added that the tournament should earn the city over $430,000 in revenue from lodging, food and entertainment, based on revenue from past tournaments.