All four 2005 finalists will be back on the Big Island for the Hilton Waikoloa Village USTA Challenger. The men's and women's event begins Saturday, with finals Jan. 29. It is the first USTA Pro Circuit tournament of 2006 and offers a $50,000 purse in each division.

Former men's champions at Waikoloa include Andy Roddick (2001), James Blake (2002) and Robby Ginepri (2003). All three finished among the top 25 in the world last year.

A year ago, Paul Goldstein captured the men's championship for the second time, beating Cecil Mamiit in the final. Goldstein has 26 career Pro Circuit titles (12 singles). He set the all-time record in November, inspiring the USTA to dub him the "Crash Davis of Tennis." He reached a career high of No. 64 in the August rankings.

Canadian Marie-Eve Pelletier beat Hana Sromova in three sets to win the women's title last year. Sromova moved into the world's top 100 in November. Melinda Czink, the 2003 Waikoloa champ, is also back.

Other players to watch include Gilles Muller of Luxembourg, who upset Roddick in the first round of last year's U.S. Open; Viktoria Azarenka of Belarus, the 2005 U.S. Open girls champion; and former American Davis Cup players Jan-Michael Gambill, Justin Gimelstob and Vince Spadea.

Maui's Malino Oda, a former Hawai'i high school champion, has been given a wild card into the doubles main draw. He will play with Hilton Waikoloa head pro Nicholas Moxley. Mauna Lani head pro Nik Aracic received a wild card into this weekend's qualifying.

First prize is $7,700 for the women's champion, and 35 WTA ranking points, and $7,200 for the men's winner, with 50 ATP ranking points.

The USTA will host two free events for the public this weekend. There will be a Community Tennis Day Saturday, from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m., for players to meet the touring and teaching pros and hit with them in an on-court clinic. There will also be "dynamic stretching" and "tennis yoga" instruction. A Keiki Tennis Day will be Sunday, from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m.