TIFTON — Sunday’s fourth annual Rally for Reading matched area tennis players with the teams of Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College for an afternoon of doubles.

A warm day greeted the players, which saw legendary former ABAC tennis coach Red Hill recognized before the event began.

Solomon Nixon III read to the crowd from “Arthur Ashe, Tennis Star & Activist.” Nixon, a kindergarten student at Len Lastinger Primary School, is also the first poster child for Tifton’s REAL (Read Aloud) program.

Current ABAC head coach Dale White introduced his players before Mike Brumby talked about Rally for Reading and listed its sponsors.

Brumby later said that 55 players participated in the event. ABAC players represented four continents and seven countries. For the state of Georgia, players came from Athens, Atlanta and Savannah to play.

Players were of all ages, he said, from children to adults.

Brumby divided players into groups, one ABAC athlete to three area players.

“If the competition’s not enough for you,” said Brumby, “I can tweak it.”

Besides Hill and the ABAC tennis stars, there was another celebrity on hand: Ricki Reader, portrayed by Conner Jackson.

Participants and patrons raised $3,000 for the Tift County Foundation for Educational Excellence’s Read Aloud Program.