13 October 2016 | Tennis Victoria

The Latrobe City Traralgon ATP Men’s Challenger event returns to the Gippsland region in 2016 with the support of the Gippsland tennis community behind it.

For the first time ever, the Latrobe City Traralgon ATP Men’s Challenger event will be connected to tennis clubs in Gippsland like never before. Each tennis club that registers to host a Free Tennis Day will be connected to a player in the main draw. The player that wins the tournament wins the Gippsland club an Australian Open 2017 ticket and prize pack.  Free Tennis Days are a great way for clubs to promote tennis playing opportunities to the community.

The Traralgon Tennis Association will host their own Free Tennis Day on the final day of the Challenger – Sunday 30- October. From 9:30am the courts will be open for free and there will be ANZ Tennis Hot Shots courts set up and speed serve and hit the target activities. There are prizes to be won and visitors are encouraged to top off their day by staying to watch the final of the Latrobe City Traralgon ATP Men’s Challenger.

Tennis Victoria Country Participation Manager, Adam Crameri was pleased with the growth of tennis in the region. “Registered participants in the Country South East region have grown by 16% over the past year. This is very encouraging for tennis in Country Victoria and the Gippsland area. The Challenger event is a highlight for the region and one that I encourage Gippsland tennis to support.”

Jordan Thompson (NSW) leads a strong field of players that includes four of Australia’s Top 10 players.  Runner-up at last year’s event, Thompson will be looking to go one better in 2016.

Joining Thompson in the draw are fellow Australians James Duckworth (NSW), Matthew Barton (NSW), Ben Mitchell (Qld), Luke Saville (SA), John Patrick Smith (Qld), Marc Polmans (Vic) and last year’s winner Matthew Ebden (WA).

The overseas contingent will be bolstered by Jarmere Jenkins (USA) who has won two of the last four Australian Pro Tour titles with wins at the Brisbane QTC International and last week’s Hutchinson Builders Toowoomba International. He is currently on a 14-1 winning streak for the last three weeks in Australia.

The Latrobe City Traralgon ATP Men’s Challenger starts on Monday 24 October 2016.

For more information about the Australian Pro Tour, Tennis Australia or the players visit www.tennis.com.au. For more information on the ITF Pro Circuit visit www.itftennis.com.

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