Tennis ACT has today unveiled the calendar of events secured through the redevelopment of the Canberra Tennis Centre as part of the tripartite agreement between Tennis ACT, Tennis Australia, and the ACT Government. A number of international events will be held at the venue, headlined by the Canberra International in November, along with Pro tour events, ITF Junior and Senior events, and a number of domestic tournaments.
The Canberra International, a $50,000 ATP Challenger and ITF Women’s $50,000 event, will take place from November 1-8 and is expected to attract players ranked ATP/WTA 100 to 300. With the event being played on the 8 outdoor plexipave courts it is the perfect lead in for players to the Australian Summer of Tennis, as they try to improve their rankings ahead of the 2016 Australian Open. The ATP challenger and ITF Women’s tours provide a stepping stone to the ATP and WTA world tours.
In 2013, Canberra’s own Nick Kyrgios commenced his rapid rankings rise after winning an ATP Challenger in Sydney. In 2014 he won back to back ATP Challengers in Sarasota and Savannah, before winning the Nottingham Challenger where he was awarded a wildcard into Wimbledon making the quarter finals and defeating number one seed Rafael Nadal.
The Canberra Tennis Centre has also secured back to back Pro Tour events to be held in March and April on the European clay courts, with a $15,000 Men’s Pro tour event followed by a Women’s $15,000 Pro Tour.
Tournament Director and Tennis ACT CEO Ross Triffitt said “We are delighted to have secured a number of international events at the Canberra Tennis Centre. These events provide a launch pad for future tennis champions and since 2013, Nick Kyrgios, James Duckworth, Sam Groth, Casey Dellacqua and Daria Gavrilova have all featured on the honour roll at events in Australia.
For local professional players such as Alison Bai (WTA 355), Alexandra Nancarrow (WTA 416) and Jake Eames (ATP 765), who spend the majority of the year on the road, it is a great opportunity to compete in their home town. The Canberra International will showcase the amazing new facility we have in Canberra and the community will have the chance to watch world class tennis”.
Minister for Sport and Recreation, Shane Rattenbury attended today’s announcement and highlighted the benefits of securing International events in Canberra “It’s fantastic to have these high profile events held here in Canberra, but it’s also great to have such excellent facilities available for those who are inspired by the big events to use all year round.”
It is not only the professionals who have secured events, with an International junior events to be held at the venue in October, along with the continuation of the ITF Seniors event. Domestically, the Canberra Tennis Centre will host an increase in Australian Money Tournaments (AMT) offering a total of $26,000 in prizemoney and a number of Junior Tour (JT) events.
Triffitt said “The increase in tournaments provides players from the ACT and surrounding region to gain Australian ranking points without having to travel. The redeveloped venue has given us to capacity to create events catering for beginner players all the way up to professionals. There is also benefit provided to the wider Canberra community, with the events expected to attract over $13m worth of economic benefit to the Territory over the 3 year agreement”.
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