Cairns, Australia, 2 October 2023 | Leigh Rogers

The Australian Pro Tour returns to Cairns this week, providing an opportunity for some of the nation’s top players to earn valuable ranking points and prizemoney.

The Cairns International Tennis Centre will host back-to-back ITF 25 tournaments for both men and women over the coming fortnight, with a combined prize pool of USD $100,000.

Lizette Cabrera, a 25-year-old from Townsville, leads the Aussie charge in this week’s women’s singles competition.

The world No.238 is on a five-match winning streak in the Far North Queensland city, after scooping a Cairns International title last year.

Taylah Preston, a 17-year-old from Perth, will provide fierce competition. The world No.317 won the most recent Australian Pro Tour event, played in her hometown last month.

A strong field also includes Aussie contenders Destanee Aiava, Maddison Inglis and Talia Gibson.

> VIEW: Cairns International women’s singles draw

Poland’s Filip Peliwo is the top seed in the men’s singles competition, with Blake Ellis the highest-ranked Australian in the draw.

Blake Mott looms as the title contender too. The in-form 27-year-old Aussie has won 20 of his past 24 matches on the ITF Tour. This includes claiming back-to-back Australian Pro Tour titles in Darwin last month.

> VIEW: Cairns International men’s singles draw

Fans can attend the Cairns International events, which run until 15 October, for free.

“This is an event that council has supported for more than a decade, and which has consistently served up brilliant tennis from some of the best national and international players,” Cairns Mayor Bob Manning said.

“It is the sort of event that the Cairns International Tennis Centre was built to host, and adds to the city’s reputation as a premium sporting destination.

“More than 160 players will converge on the city for this year’s 16-day event, and for those who unfortunately don’t get to the finals, there’s probably no better place in the world to get knocked out than a tropical paradise like Cairns.”

> VIEW: Australian Pro Tour calendar

Book online, play today: Visit play.tennis.com.au to get out on court and have some fun!