While the eyes of the international tennis world have been firmly fixed on Melbourne’s Australian Open in recent weeks, the region’s tennis community will shift its attention to Numurkah this weekend.
Boasting some strong regional and metro talent, the 92nd annual Numurkah Lawn Tennis Club Australia Day Tournament is sure to be full of action.
Kicking off with singles and mixed doubles matches on Saturday and featuring doubles events on Sunday, club president Nick Ludington said participation numbers were up on previous years.
“We’re probably expecting around 100 people to play,” Ludington said.
“I’m thinking it’s due to COVID-19 now being a little bit at the back of people’s minds rather than the forefront.
“This is the 92nd Australia Day tournament, I think it (the Australian Open) definitely helps, I think people watching it on TV get a little bit inspired at this time of year and hopefully that encourages more to dust off the racquet or at least look for a tournament on the weekend.”
Boasting a new greenskeeper this year, Ludington labelled the condition of the club’s grass courts as “fantastic”.
Set to feature the likes of tournament mainstay and four-time club champion Nick Fenaughty, Shepparton Lawn’s David Poole and Numurkah’s Mark Mills, the singles bracket is sure to be entertaining.
While all events will be taken seriously, the Saturday afternoon mixed doubles event is set to feature a more laid-back atmosphere.
"We’ll have some music playing and a bit more of a social atmosphere, kind of family-oriented,“ Luddington said.
“We’ve had a few more Melbourne participants this year which says people from Melbourne are aiming to get out a bit more, so we’ve benefited from that, which is good.”
The weekend’s action will start at 9am on Saturday with the singles, followed by the mixed doubles at 4pm.
Sunday will feature the doubles from 9am.
For more infomation or enter the tournament, head to https://play.tennis.com.au/numurkahlawntennisclub