Tennis NSW

NSW swings into Asia-Pacific Tennis League

The 2012 Asia-Pacific Tennis League (ATL) will be supported by a combined NSW/ACT Conference, it was announced last week. The league, heralded as one of the most innovative competitions to come to Australia, provides athletes the opportunity to play in a team environment similar to the U.S College and European club system.

The Asia- Pacific Tennis League was successfully piloted in South Australia, Western Australia and Victoria in 2011 as a national league and allowed those professional and semi-professional players to compete for their club. Matthew Ebden (WA) and Luke Saville (SA) both competed last year, which provided both players a solid lead up to this year’s Australian summer of tennis.  

Tennis NSW Tournaments and Competitions Manager, Nicole Bouffler believes that the ATL offers athletes a number of commercial opportunities, including team sponsorship, which would otherwise be difficult in this economic environment to attract.

“The ATL provides players with the incentive to be financially rewarded for their efforts on the courts whilst representing their club.”

“This incentive will help players continue to pursue their dream of playing tennis. That extra financial support is invaluable to athletes ranked outside the top 100”.

The Asia -Pacific Tennis League will combine some of NSW/ACT best players to compete for their club.  The successful teams will play three ties at the home of tennis in NSW, Sydney Olympic Park Tennis Centre.  The redevelopment of the National Sports Club in Lyneham, ACT, will provide players and the public with state-of-the-art facilities and will host two ties.

Tennis NSW CEO, Glenn Tasker explains that the Asia-Pacific Tennis League is a perfect environment for those tennis fans to support their players outside of the Australian Open in January.

“This is a rare opportunity for the public to watch and support up and coming Australian tennis stars in our own backyard.  Get behind the NSW teams at Sydney Olympic Park Tennis Centre, let’s beat our ACT rivals!”

From those five ties, one team will participate in the final of the Asia-Pacific Tennis League in January during the second week of the 2013 Australian Open. The inclusion of teams from the Pacific Islands, New Zealand and Asia represents the importance of creating strong community ties within our region.  The competition from all teams will be extremely high and as a result the total amount of prize money is $95,000.

Player registrations for the Asia Pacific League Tennis League have now been extended until Monday 6^th August. To register for this exciting new competition please click here.

For more information please contact Tennis NSW Tournaments and Competitions Manager Nicole Bouffler [email protected]

We will be sure to keep you updated on all the teams and clubs once the expression of interest window has closed.