Ipswich, Australia, 5 March 2013 | Tennis Australia

Heavy rain has forced the City of Ipswich Tennis International (16-24 March 2013) to be moved from the George Alder Tennis Centre to the Ipswich Grammar Tennis Centre in Queensland.

Just a 10-minute drive from the original venue, the new facility consisting of eight hard courts will now host the men’s $15,000 and women’s $25,000 ITF events in ten days’ time.

The decision comes after an unprecedented amount of rain has fallen across the sunshine state in the last eight weeks, impacting the clay courts at the TFP Academy.

The facility was first hit by Cyclone Oswald in late January.

“The car park got flooded and the courts almost went under but we were lucky they didn’t,” said Leon Glinster, manager at TFP Academy in Ipswich.

“The top surfaces of the courts were washed away exposing many of the lines on the courts.

“One line alone might take up to eight man hours to reset if it’s been exposed,” Glinster added.

A team of five staff have been working around the clock at George Alder. But with rain continuing to fall since January and with six inches of rain alone in the last seven days, it has been determined the courts won’t be able to be repaired to a satisfactory level ahead of the tournament’s start date.

The George Alder Tennis Centre is still expected to host the 12s and 14s Australian Claycourt Championships (2-14 April 2013) next month as part of the Ipswich Festival of Tennis.