As the year comes to a close, it\u2019s been wonderful to reflect on all that was achieved in tennis in WA throughout 2020.<\/p>\n
Whilst the local impact of COVID-19 was considerably less by comparison to other states, territories and countries across the globe, we remain incredibly proud and grateful for all that was achieved in tennis in Western Australia in spite of the challenges and limitations imposed by the pandemic.<\/p>\n
What follows below is the Tennis West year in review. An opportunity to both celebrate and recognise the achievements of everyone involved in delivering on yet another wonderful year of tennis in WA.<\/p>\n
Tennis in WA 2020, the year in review:<\/p>\n
\u2022 The inaugural ATP Cup Perth attracted more than 58,000 people to RAC Arena
\n\u2022 World No.1 Rafael Nadal led the charge for Team Spain in Group B of the ATP Cup, whilst Team Russia were led by World No. 5 Daniil Medvedev in Group D
\n\u2022 Hosted by the Bunbury and Busselton Tennis Clubs, the 2020 Australian National Seniors Championships were a huge success with more than 1000 competitors hitting the courts for the team and individual events.
\n\u2022 The all new Open Court Sessions were rolled out across 86 WA clubs with WA accounting for 16% of all registrations across the country
\n\u2022 The WA tennis community rallied together in support of Tomio and Kimie Yamazaki at the sudden passing of their 15-year-old son, Kent Yamazaki, who was preparing for an ITF event in Nepal when he fell unconscious and hit his head on the court. Tragically, Kent never regained consciousness.
\n\u2022 Astra Sharma earnt herself an AO Women\u2019s Singles main draw spot and followed with a strong return to the Mixed Doubles event, finishing as a semifinalist with John-Patrick Smith
\n\u2022 Maddison Inglis started the year with a win at the Burnie International, followed by a maiden Perth Tennis International title securing her a career high Singles ranking of World No. 112
\n\u2022 Storm Sanders also enjoyed success early in 2020 with Doubles titles at the Burnie International and Hua Hin Thailand International
\n\u2022 WA\u2019s Doubles specialist, Jess Moore, retired from the professional circuit with an impressive 33 Doubles titles and career high Doubles ranking of World No. 52 (2019)
\n\u2022 Casey Dellacqua joined in all of the action of the Festival of Tennis which saw more than 2,000 people attend the State Tennis Centre for a day of fun tennis activities, giveaways, children\u2019s entertainment and opportunity to watch the semifinals of the Peth Tennis International
\n\u2022 Spanish twin sisters, Vanesa Gonzalez and Silvia Gonzalez-qui\u00f1ones, opened Padel Perth Reabold, at Reabold Tennis Club
\n\u2022 Tristan Schoolkate joined the Australian Davis Cup team as the groups Orange Boy for the World Group Qualifying event in Adelaide
\n\u2022 The SunSmart Schools Tennis Classic saw more than 500 students participate in match play competitions across the state
\n\u2022 New Book-A-Court venues opened at Blue Gum TC, Nedlands TC, Allen Park TC and Kelmscott TC taking the total number of WA Book-A-Court venues to 23
\n\u2022 COVID-19 hit impacting the normal operation of clubs and coaching businesses and the social and competitive participation of players. Fortunately for WA clubs, coaches and players, the impact was relatively short lived
\n\u2022 A trailblazer of her time, Tennis West Life Member and Former President, Ms Andrea Mitchell, passed away after a long battle with illness
\n\u2022 A remote celebration of National Volunteers Week took place with feature stories, videos, a multitude of media attention and a thank you video message from the Tennis West team
\n\u2022 Reports showed unprecedented growth in court bookings for the month of May, with comparative data showing growth of more than 140% across West Australian Book-a-Court venues
\n\u2022 Professional tennis returned to Australia with satellite UTR Pro Tennis Series events hosted in Perth, Brisbane, Sydney and Melbourne
\n\u2022 Grand Slam Champion and Doubles expert, John Peers, claimed the first UTR Pro Tennis Series event in Perth with College graduate, Scott Jones, going on to claim the titles of the second and third events
\n\u2022 The ANZ Tennis Hot Shots Racquet Roadshow kicked off at Duncraig Primary School, with the schools\u2019 Pre-Primary students the first in students in Australia (2020) to receive the brand new racquets
\n\u2022 Through the Department of Local Government, Sport and Cultural Industries (DLGSC) the State Government announced significant Community Sporting and Recreation Facilities Fund (CSRFF) funding for the Leederville and Cuballing tennis clubs
\n\u2022 WA\u2019s Astra Sharma, Maddison Inglis, Storm Sanders and John Peers headed to the US Open with all players going on to play at Roland Garros
\n\u2022 The first of 25 Females in Tennis Development Camps planned to be rolled out across the country, took place in Albany with 28 young girls taking to the courts of the Lawley Park TC
\n\u2022 Storm Sanders hits a career high Doubles ranking of World No. 65
\n\u2022 Tennis Australia joined eight sporting bodies and committed to implementing governance that supports a greater level of inclusion for trans and gender diverse people in sport
\n\u2022 Our dedicated volunteers were celebrated and recognised with a cocktail event at the South Perth Community Hall
\n\u2022 Member Associations and Tennis Australia collaborated to develop the eight pillars of Thriving Tennis Communities (TTC). WA led the country completing 24 pilot club action plans (22 metropolitan and 2 regional) which aim to develop a collaborative action plan for clubs
\n\u2022 The inaugural season of the South West Junior League kicked off with teams from Bunbury, Margaret River, Busselton, Boyup Brook, Bridgetown and Donnybrook travelling across the South West to compete each week
\n\u2022 In partnership with the Healthway Tennis for Everyone Program, Tennis West joined Blind Sports WA in bringing the game of tennis to the blind low vision community of Western Australia with sessions at Manning and Nollamara TC\u2019s
\n\u2022 With players from 61 unique metropolitan clubs contesting 31 Tennis West Summer Leagues, more than 7,000 players from a record 1,027 teams registered for the 14-week 2020\/2021 summer season
\n\u2022 More than 280 Pre-Primary students from across the South West received brand new racquets as part of the ANZ Tennis Racquet Roadshow
\n\u2022 Busselton TC hosted the D\u2019Arcy Slater Cup and Women in Tennis Foundation Cup junior tournaments with more than 80 regional players from the Midwest, Upper Great Southern, Lower Great Southern, Great Southern, South West, Central Districts, Pilbara and Eastern Districts, contesting the prestigious titles. The South West Zone claimed both titles for the second year running.
\n\u2022 The 2020 Tennis West AGM was held with Ms Jan Truscott and Mr Colin Napier elected to the Board by the Members (clubs). Following the AGM, the Nominations Committee appointed Mr Gwyn Dolphin and Mr Rod Van as Board appointed Directors
\n\u2022 At the 2020 Tennis West AGM, longstanding WA tennis stalwarts, Ray Collins and Wayne Firns, were named as Life Members
\n\u2022 Almost 1,000 primary school students took part in five Red Ball Gala events ran across both metropolitan and regional WA
\n\u2022 WA\u2019s tennis legend, Lesley Hunt, features as part of the \u2018Locker Room\u2019 exhibit at the brand new WA Museum Boola Bardip
\n\u2022 Tennis West committed to the development of the organisations Reflective Reconciliation Action Plan. In addition, Tennis West announced its partnership with Murlpirrmarra Connection who will act as the sport\u2019s indigenous delivery partner for the provision of tennis opportunities across metropolitan, regional and remote Western Australia
\n\u2022 Billie Jean King Cup Captain, Alicia Molik, attended the inaugural Alicia Molik Schools Challenge to present the winning teams, Applecross Senior High School and Newman College, with their trophies
\n\u2022 Tennis West joined the students of John XXIII College in celebration of International Day of People with Disability with a showcase of wheelchair and vision impaired tennis
\n\u2022 Students from the Holland Street School in Geraldton participated in five weeks of coaching lessons all thanks to Tennis Australia\u2019s three-year partnership with the Movement Disorder Foundation (MDF)
\n\u2022 The Tennis West team again pledged their commitment to Movember, raising more than $5,000 and moving more than 4,300kms during the month of November. Special mention to Jarron Kretschmann of Sun City Tennis Academy who committed to shaving his moustache and beard of seven years in support of the teams\u2019 efforts
\n\u2022 Replacing the annual December Showdown, more than 110 of the state\u2019s junior tennis players competed in the UTR Junior State Performance Championships across 12\/u, 14\/u, 16\/u and 18\/u events
\n\u2022 Open to players by invitation only, seven West Australian high performance athletes including Jessie Culley, Talia Gibson, Maddison Inglis, Derek Pham, Taylah Preston, Tristan Schoolkate and Zach Viiala, were invited to join the National Tennis Academy (NTA)
\n\u2022 The coaching team kept busy throughout the year delivery an array of courses including Community Coaching, Junior Development, Females Community Coaching and Pre Service Teacher training courses
\n\u2022 Thanks to the ANZ, more than 2,500 WA Pre-Primary school students received brand new ANZ Tennis Hot Shots racquets
\n\u2022 Thanks to the combined investment of the State Government (CSRFF funding), Tennis Australia (NCR funding), Local Governments and Tennis Clubs across WA; Tennis has seen more than $6M worth of tennis infrastructure projects commenced or completed throughout 2020
\n\u2022 Astra Sharma and Maddison Inglis received early Christmas gifts from Tennis Australia, awarded an Australian Open women\u2019s singles main draw wildcard entry. John Peers will partner with New Zealand\u2019s Michael Venus in the men\u2019s doubles main draw, with Storm Sanders pairing with fellow Aussie Arina Rodionova in the women\u2019s doubles draw
\n\u2022 Headed to Doha, Qatar for the men\u2019s singles qualifying event at the beginning of January are Matt Ebden and Tristan Schoolkate with Storm Sanders travelling to Dubai, United Arab Emirates, for the women\u2019s singles qualifying event<\/p>\n