Mildura Lawn Tennis Club coach Bill Madafferi is a former ATP player and he joins the Sunraysia Daily sports team to look at local tennis.
COVID-19 has affected everyone in some way.
Some people have lost their jobs, businesses and livelihoods to this insidious virus.
In most regional areas, like Mildura, case numbers have remained low, but still we are forced to lock down, cut off from loved ones and made to put our lives on hold as the government tries to curb the spread of the virus.
I understand all the reasons why it is doing what it is, but for someone who spent most of their life living in Melbourne, I think ,on this occasion, regional Victorians are getting the rough end of the stick from our politicians.
If you had of asked me that a few years ago – before I decided to make the move to Mildura, I probably wouldn’t have thought too much about what was happening up in Sunraysia.
But having lived here now for almost four years, I feel a real sense of pride about the region and it makes me angry to think how country people are being treated – I know, weird coming from a city slicker who opted for a sea change a couple of years ago.
Just look at the number of sporting events of any significance which are held outside of metropolitan areas – it’s hard to think of any other than the odd pre-season AFL match.
But maybe it’s time some of our sports administrators started thinking a little more creatively and consider regional Victoria as an alternative host for some of their events.
Why couldn’t some of the preliminary rounds of the Australian Open be held in a place like Bendigo?
It’s close to Melbourne, the courts meet the standard and they have a boutique stadium and great facilities, a perfect option I would have thought, and a great opportunity to promote the game at grassroots level.
I’m not talking about playing second or third–round matches and maybe it’s not even any of the seeds, but why couldn’t it be, if crowd distancing restrictions remain in place in metropolitan areas, like they look like they will for the foreseeable future? A place like Bendigo would be a great alternative.
Maybe they just play doubles or mixed doubles, what have organisers got to lose.
Country people are starved of elite sport and while their haven’t been many positives to come out of COVID-19, this could be one.
I’d love for Mildura to host matches, but geographically we are too far away and we also don’t have a hard-court facility up to the standard needed to host this level of competition.
But whether it’s Bendigo, Ballarat or even Traralgon, whichever region had the opportunity, it would be such a boost for all country people and the sport of tennis.
Unfortunately, I think my idea will probably fall on deaf ears, which is a shame because there are so many positives which would come out of it.
Tennis is in the spotlight for two weeks of the year in this country when the Australian Open is on.
For the rest of the year, most people don’t give it much of a thought.
This is Tennis Australia’s opportunity to do something positive for regional Victoria and I’m sure it would be incredibly well received and a great public relations exercise for an organisation which doesn’t have a great reputation with the people in the bush.
