THE annual Celebrity Tennis Classic at Elbow Beach will not be staged this year. But Bermuda Lawn Tennis Association president David Lambert vowed the fund-raising tournament will be back next year with such stars as four-time Grand Slam winner Hana Mandlikova, boxing champion Laila Ali (the daughter of the legendary champion Mohammed Ali), former tennis player Katrina Adams as well as former Mayor of New York City David Dinkins.

Lambert said: "We can't have it this year because of circumstances beyond our control. But we will have it next year and our celebrities are all on board."

And Lambert said there is a possibility of getting tennis great Billie Jean King down to Bermuda next year.

Lambert recently returned from the US Open in New York ¿ a tournament he tries to get to every year ¿ and said: "One of the important reasons I go to the US Open is to meet and keep in touch with contacts and meet potential celebrities for the Classic."

This year he managed to speak to Billie Jean King when Dinkins was honoured for all the work he has put into the US Open.

The base of the pasarelle just outside the east gate public entryway to the US Open was renamed 'David Dinkins Circle'.

Lambert said King spoke as well as New York Governor David Paterson and Mayor Michael Bloomberg.

The BLTA boss also met with Dennis Van der Meer, founder of the PTR which has the largest membership of tennis instructors worldwide. "Many of Bermuda's coaches have an affiliation with the PTR and talks are underway to have workshops in Bermuda."

Of Mayor Dinkins, Lambert said: "He has done so much for tennis in New York and he loves coming to Bermuda for the Classic. He likes interacting with the kids in Bermuda and he knows how important the Classic is in raising funds to send our young players away to various tournaments."

Lambert said that even though there will be no Classic this year, he has still received donations from some sponsors. "Even though we are not having the event this year some sponsors have sent us money that they would have sent anyway. One sponsor told us that they do not have to worry about where the money is going because they can see it where it goes ¿ they see the juniors going away to tournaments."

Funds collected from the Classic last year went to help some juniors travel to New York earlier in 2008 to train and compete in USTA tournaments. "This was due to a reciprocal programme between the BLTA and the USTA. We sent six players and a coach. And money from the Classic also helped our kids go to the JITIC tournament in Monterrey, Mexico this summer."

The Classic involves a cocktail reception for sponsors at Elbow Beach as well as a chance for sponsors to hit with the stars and then another meet and greet at Bacardi International.

Also hundreds of school children get the chance to meet the stars at the WER Joell Tennis Stadium where they are put through drills. The day also involves exhibitions, tennis give-aways, coaching clinics, doubles games and a question and answer session.

"The Celebrity Classic is a very special event for us," said Lambert.