Tennis and pickleball players have days left to join Fort Walton Beach charity tournament
Fort Walton Beach, Florida – The clock is ticking for tennis and pickleball players hoping to take part in a two-day tournament in Fort Walton Beach later this month. Registration for the upcoming “Rally on the Court” event closes Wednesday, Sept. 23, just two days before competition begins.
Beyond the matches, the tournament carries a larger purpose. Every $47 entry fee represents the 47 children diagnosed with cancer each day in the United States, with proceeds benefiting the nonprofit Rally Foundation for Childhood Cancer Research.
USTA Florida, working in partnership with the City of Fort Walton Beach, will host the pickleball and tennis tournaments Sept. 25-26 at the Fort Walton Beach Tennis Center, located at 45 W Audrey Drive NW.
Players of all skill levels are invited to participate.
Competition begins Friday, Sept. 25, with the pickleball tournament starting at 5 p.m. Tennis takes over the courts the following morning, with the Saturday, Sept. 26 tournament scheduled to begin at 7:30 a.m.
The event also gives players and visitors an opportunity to see the newly renovated Fort Walton Beach Tennis Center, which is operated by USTA Florida.
Organizers are encouraging local players to bring their racquets, test their skills and support childhood cancer research at the same time. The combination of competitive play and fundraising is designed to bring the tennis and pickleball communities together around a cause that reaches families far beyond the courts.
The $47 registration fee was intentionally set to reflect the number of children diagnosed with cancer every day nationwide, tying each tournament entry directly to the event’s mission.
With the registration deadline approaching, interested players have only a limited window remaining to secure a spot in either tournament before the Sept. 23 cutoff.
Players can register online for Rally on the Court. The pickleball tournament will be held Friday evening, followed by the tennis tournament Saturday morning, wrapping two days of competition around a shared effort to raise support for childhood cancer research.
