As the sun started peeking over the horizon early Monday morning, the USTA National Campus was already buzzing. After months of preparing and planning, Jan. 2, 2017, had finally arrived. It was time to play tennis!

Some of the very first players to arrive in the 8 a.m. hour were from California, Georgia and of course Orlando. At 10 a.m., Nick Jaramillo and Joe Herrera stepped on Har-Tru No. 25 after they were the first players to ever book a court at the National Campus when the site welcomed bookings on Dec. 31.

One family moved down to Orlando from New Jersey six weeks ago to have the chance to train at the National Campus year round.

"My kids have been playing tennis for the past four years. They fell in love with tennis, so I decided to learn the game myself. I've always been a visual learner so I watched a lot of tennis on the computer and TV," said Keith Humphrey. "But we heard about the new campus being built, so (my wife Deirdre and I) decided to make a transition to Florida because we thought this was an area where they could have an opportunity to get better. So we're taking a chance and we want to be a part of what they are trying to do in Orlando when it comes to tennis.

"This place is amazing. We've been to tennis facilities all over the country and have never seen anything like this."

After breaking a sweat on the courts, players had the chance to visit the Courtside Cafe for some nurishment or even enjoy the outdoor bar which started serving at 2 p.m.

From Tuesday-Thursday this week, the USTA National Campus will hold free Open House events each day from 9:30-11:30 a.m. and 5-7 p.m. as guests will get to experience all the campus has to offer.

Friday will mark the first tournament on campus with the Florida League Combo 18 & Over 6.5/8.5 Championship, which will conclude on Sunday.