TENNIS Australia representatives say the Mildura Lawn Tennis Club is a destination venue, as the facility embraces the return of its pro tour event following the successful Australian Junior Grasscourt Championships.
The Mildura International, last held in 2020 before COVID lockdowns, is back on the calendar and will run from Sunday March 10 to Sunday March 17.
Tournament director Andy Reynolds, who oversaw the action for last week’s junior championships at the venue, labelled the event a “roaring success” and says he believes the Mildura International will follow suit.
The pro tour event has played host to numerous rising stars of the national and international tennis circuit over the years, including Ash Barty, Nick Kyrgios and Jordan Thompson.
COVID restrictions and last year’s flooding have been contributing factors to the Mildura International’s hiatus.
“Players have said for many years that Mildura is the number one venue for grass courts in Australia and it’s great to have the pro tour returning again,” Reynolds said.
“Unfortunately the club has missed out on its signature event for a few years now with circumstances outside of their control.
“Tennis Australia has really tried to support the Mildura club as much as possible because we see it as a destination venue for players of all ages, from pro tour events to juniors.”
Reynolds spoke glowingly of Mildura Lawn Tennis Club and the work put in for the grasscourt championships.
More than 120 competitors took part, with an estimated 550 visitors at the club on any given day of the tournament.
“We couldn’t have been more delighted with last week and hopefully Mildura gets to host it again,” he said.
“Tennis Australia and Mildura Lawn Tennis Club have really grown their relationship over the past few years and the work they put in to ensure everything went smoothly was brilliant.
“The courts played unbelievably well, which is a brilliant result considering most of them were well under water 12 months ago.
“There were obviously challenges with the heat but that comes with the territory of tennis being played through the summer in Australia.”
Reynolds said Mildura provided opportunities for a number of players from Queensland and New South Wales especially to gain experience on a surface they weren’t familiar with.
“In the northern states especially there is a dearth of grass courts so a lot of players either hadn’t had much experience or had no experience at all on the surface,” he said.
“It’s a great opportunity to work on their game on a surface they aren’t familiar with, and in the structure of the tournament even if they were eliminated from the main draw, all players still got five games under their belt and got a chance to learn how to play on grass regardless of where they finished.
“The players were also very respectful of the courts, which was great to see too.”
