Racquet Club of South is a Mecca for Tennis Players

The welcoming statement on Racquet Club of the South's website reads: "We are proud to offer one of the finest tennis facilities you are likely to find anywhere." 

It would be easy to dismiss the claim as a baseless boast by a commercial enterprise hoping to attract your patronage. But once you have visited the club's pristine 23-acre wooded site with 18 outdoor lighted courts, eight climate-controlled indoor courts, four clay courts, two platform courts, 25-meter swimming pool and state-of-the-art workout facility, the statement seems more like an understatement.

Owners Steve Garaleck and Remington Reynolds have created a mecca for tennis players at every level from beginner to professional. Located at 6350 Courtside Drive in Peachtree Corners, RCS has long been known as one of the premier tennis clubs in Georgia.

It was the site of the 1990 Fed Cup and a men's World Championship Tennis tournament in the 1980s.

A USTA Regional Training Center, RCS is the home club of one of the the nation's top players, Melanie Oudin, of Marietta, Ga..

In addition to its first-class training facilities, RCS offers something that is quite unique -- RCS College Prep, a full-time program where budding tennis players attend school in the morning and practice tennis in the afternoon.

The school is operated by K-12, Inc., the biggest provider of online school programs and proprietary curriculum in the U.S. for students of kindergarten through high school.

RCS College Prep was started two years ago primarily for students who were being home schooled.

Director of Sales and Marketing Nancy Rebol says RCS College Prep currently has about 20 students who have their own online curriculum.

 "There is a facilitator in the classroom who is a certified teacher and the curriculum is fully accredited," Rebol said.

Classes begin at 8 a.m. and continue until noon. After lunch, students hit the courts for instruction from an outstanding staff that includes Grant Stafford, who once had an ATP Tour ranking of 53rd in the world, Frank Salazar, the 2008 U.S. Olympic Committee Coach of the Year who coached last year's U.S. Open finalist Dennis Kudla and Sanjay Jayaram, a two-time All-American at the University of South Carolina and former women's coach at Coastal Carolina University.

The Atlanta Tennis Championships recently announced that its 2011 tournament will be held at RCS, July 18-24. The event will launch the Olympus U.S. Open Series season. Reigning singles champion Mardy Fish and 2010 finalist John Isner have committed to return to Atlanta to play in the tournament.

RCS is located at 6350 Courtside Drive just off Peachtree Corners Parkway.