Several tennis pros to play in unisex tourney

Gimelstob, who is on the ATP board, has since apologized and was suspended one match without pay by World Team Tennis. He was unavailable for comment Tuesday.

Bellamy said the event will have a 32-player draw, and should be completed in about three hours. He said a committee will examine the qualifications of every entrant and choose the top 28. The other four will come from a qualifier earlier in the day that's open to the public.

The format will be similar to table tennis, with the winner being the first to reach 21 points and each player serving five points before service alternates.

The entry fee is $100 for the main draw and $50 for the qualifier. Bellamy said the winner will earn about $10,000. Sponsors include Wilson Racquet Sports, Pepsi, Fender Guitars and The Ski Channel.

Bellamy, a 44-year-old chief executive of The Ski Channel, is married to Beth Herr, a former NCAA tennis champion at Southern California and top-20 professional.

"My passion in life is promoting tennis," he said. "It's not like baseball, football and basketball, where 99 percent of the participants quit when they're 14. It's a sport you can play your whole life. I'm always looking for ways to make tennis and lifetime sports better."

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