PRELIMINARY planning for next year’s Mildura Grand Tennis International has started with discussions held between local tennis officials and Tennis Australia.
Mildura Lawn Tennis Club (MLTC) president Chris Hobart said they were committed to holding the event in 2021 despite the uncertainty created by the coronavirus pandemic.
“I’ve had some discussions with TA (Tennis Australia) and Tennis Victoria and the prevailing idea is looking towards business as usual and hopefully that is the case when we get through this pandemic in reasonably good shape,” Hobart said.
“I think that is probably the attitude we will try and adopt for our longer term events – we will plan for things to go ahead and if through adverse circumstances we need to vary that, that’s what we will do.”
The Mildura Grand Tennis International is one of the MLTC’s feature events, attracting players from all over the world.
It is not only an important part of Sunraysia’s sporting calendar, it also contributes significantly to the local economy.
Current women’s world No.1 Ash Barty and tennis bad boy Nick Kyrgios are two international stars who have previously played in the pro tour before making it on to the ATP tour.
“It is a feature event on our calendar, the biggest event on our calendar, and we look forward to hosting it again should all the stars align,” said Hobart.
The MLTC have been forced to cancel a number of this year, including their annual Easter tournament, putting financial strain on the club, but Hobart said with restrictions easing, he was hopeful the summer season could start as planned and the club could return to its normal schedule.
“I suppose one of the helpful elements for us is that council have been enormously flexible in how they approach the funding we receive and they have allowed us to roll that over to our next year’s (Easter tournament) event – that allows us a degree of certainty and planning for next Easter,” said Hobart.
“We are hoping for a good start to the summer season – an unrestricted start to the season and hopefully we will be in a good position to start without too many restrictions.
“We are definitely looking for a strong summer season – certainly clubs like ours, when we are not playing, it disadvantages our members and it also comes at a financial cost.
“There are still outgoings that we have to meet as a club – we have less money to invest into our facilities, we have a reduced capacity to offer other avenues to our members and to members of the community.
“It is one of those things we need to manage carefully and hopefully with a return to summer tennis that will bolster our finances – keeping in mind that these are times which have placed significant financial burdens on businesses and individuals – they are going to be pretty challenging times, but we are optimistic.”
