The annual Celebrity Tennis Classic held at Elbow Beach will go ahead as planned this month after last year's event was cancelled due to circumstances beyond the organisers' control.

A star-studded line-up featuring tennis stars Hana Mandlikova, Katrina Adams, Lori McNeil along with former Mayor of New York David Dinkins as well as former boxing champion Laila Ali and her husband NFL star Curtis Conway have all agreed to fly down to Bermuda for the Classic.

The Tennis Classic is scheduled for September 23 to 26.

Ali has been the major draw in women's boxing for years and made her professional fighting debut in 1999, knocking out April Fowler in the first round.

She was the undefeated Super Middleweight Champion of the world with a 24-0 record

Conway, whose 4,498 receiving yards rank him fifth on the Bears' all-time yardage list, is now a sports broadcaster on ESPN's popular television show "Jim Rome is Burning".

Adams competed on the Women's Tennis Association (WTA) Tour for 12 years and is currently serving a two-year term as Director at Large on the United States Tennis Association (USTA). A Public Affairs professor, Dinkins was the 106th Mayor of New York City from 1989-1993.

A major factor in the Classic's re-emergence this year is the donation of funds towards the event, particularly Butterfield Bank, who donated $15,000, and sponsors Bacardi along with others who contributed.

Bermuda Lawn Tennis Association (BLTA) president David Lambert, who vowed last year that the fund-raising tournament would be back, is pleased to see the event taking shape with the celebrities ready to hit the court.

"The concept behind the Celebrity Classic was to invite well known personalities to Bermuda to assist in raising funds to invest in our young tennis stars," said Lambert.

"Over the years this event has proven to be successful in attracting actors such as James Avery aka Uncle Phil of Fresh Prince of Bel Air, actress Robin Givens, tennis stars such as Amanda Coetzner and former Mayor of New York David Dinkins to name a few.

"This year Tennis Hall of Famer Hana Mandlikova, Former tour players Katrina Adams and Lori McNeil and top female boxer and Dancing with the Stars' Laila Ali will be attending.

"The structure of this year's event is the same as 2007 which consists of cocktail parties for sponsors, tennis clinics, an exhibition at the WER Joell Tennis Stadium, concluding with a black tie dinner."

Funds collected from this year's Classics will go towards helping some junior starlets play in ITF sanctioned tournaments and world ranking tournaments.

Looking back on the domestic year as it heads into the final weeks, Lambert is also satisfied with how it has turned out, especially with some of the younger players showing their ability on the international scene.

"This year's domestic season has offered a high level of competition from our players, many of whom have and continue to benefit from funds raised through this Classic.

"As the president of the BLTA I am very pleased to see the commitment of the players, the coaches and appreciate the many hours offered by the many sub-committees of the BLTA.

"All funds will be directed to our top juniors to assist them in playing in ITF World Ranking Tournaments which helps them to secure College Scholarships. These pools of players at the College level continue to provide us with Davis Cup and Fed Cup participants."

n Andy Bray and Ciara Svenson have been named number one seeds for the Fairmont Southampton Grand Prix that starts today.

Bray takes the top spot with Gavin Manders off the Island, whilst Svenson lays claim to the top Ladies' spot after Ashley Brookes and the Lambert sisters have stated that they won't play in the tournament.

The tournament will take place at the Whaler Inn tennis courts and runs through September 19.