Annabelle Simmons returns a shot near the net against Anna Katherine Davenport-Frey Friday during match play at Northwood Country Club during the State Games of Mississippi.

Being the daughter of a tennis pro, it was only a matter of time before 9-year-old Hardin Hiatt hit the courts at Northwood Country Club.

And it was a first for Hiatt on Friday afternoon when she competed in the State Games youth tennis tournament against fellow 9-year-old Lindsay Rauenhorst.

“It’s really fun,” Hiatt said of the tournament. “I like playing against different people.”

The State Games tournament brought players from all across Mississippi from ages 10 and under all the way to 18. Anthony Hiatt, Northwood’s tennis pro and Hardin Hiatt’s father, said the tournament is sanctioned by the United State Tennis Association, making it an attractive option for Mississippi youth looking to improve their rankings.

“That’s the main reason most of these kids play in tournaments,” Anthony Hiatt said. “We have three sanctioned tournaments a year here at Northwood, and it’s good for our local players, because it gives them a chance to play kids from outside our immediate area that come to these tournaments.”

For Hardin Hiatt, though, she’s just happy to play a sport she enjoys — and one her father has helped teach her.

“He’s told me how to serve, how to hit fronthand and backhand and how to hit the volleys,” Hardin Hiatt said. “He’s taught me a lot.

“I like that there’s no roughness; you’re just playing and hitting the ball. I like to run around, and there’s a lot of running (in tennis).”

Rauenhorst, who edged Hardin Hiatt in their Friday match 4-2, 4-3, said she started playing tennis two years ago after her family moved to east Mississippi from Corpus Christi, Texas.

“My dad got me into it, because I like to run and have long legs,” Rauenhorst said.

Like Hardin Hiatt, Rauenhorst said she enjoys tournament competition.

“It’s really fun, because you get to run a lot and hit the ball hard, and at the end, you get to tell them, ‘Good match,'” she said.

State Games also gives area high school players a chance to keep their game polished, even if they aren’t going for USTA points. Landon Gibson, a rising junior at Clarkdale High School, plays tennis for the Bulldogs and said the tournament gives him a look at competition he normally wouldn’t see.

“It’s a chance to compete and give my maximum effort,” Gibson said. “It’s helpful, because you get the extra work in, and there’s more of a chance for me to improve my game.”

Gibson dropped an intense Friday matched against Louisville native Braxton Bane, and he said the tournament offers top-notch competition.

“It’s pretty high,” Gibson said. “The stakes are higher than you might expect.”