MILDURA is ideally positioned to host the world’s best tennis players if Tennis Australia transfers its ATP tournaments to Victoria this summer.
Due to COVID-19 restrictions, Tennis Australia plans to transfer at least five international tournaments, usually held in Sydney, Brisbane, Perth, Adelaide, Canberra and Hobart, to Victoria and is considering playing them at regional venues.
Mildura Lawn Tennis Club president Reg Arney said the world-class grass courts at Mildura could not be matched.
“We’re biased but we reckon (our courts) are better than anything in Australia as far as grass goes,” Mr Arney said.
“I’m not just talking about one or two show courts, because there might be better ones in Sydney, but to have 32 courts that are all very similar, and all at the standard, I don’t know whether anyone else would match that,” he said.
“We could handle it — we’d have to have council’s support and Tennis Australia’s support too, if they wanted to host a grass court event here.”
Tennis Australia’s plan to transfer its ATP events would follow a quarantine hub model similar to the AFL’s, with teams based in a particular state with strict COVID protocols.
Bendigo and Traralgon have been mooted as potential venues, but Mildura Regional Development boss Brett Millington said Mildura had the runs on the board with hosting international tennis tournaments, including the Davis Cup and Federation Cup, as well as the annual Mildura Grand Tennis International.
“We’ve hosted the Davis Cup before, so I can’t see why we wouldn’t be capable of hosting an event as a lead-up to the Australian Open,” Mr Millington said.
“I certainly think we are in an ideal location, given we have an airport people can fly in and out of as a start.”
Qantas flights between Sydney and Mildura start Monday, with South Australia set to be accessible.
“And basically as soon as … the border is open between Victoria and South Australia, the Adelaide flights are scheduled to start as well with Qantas,” Mr Millington said.
“I’d imagine by January, when all these events will be starting, we will be in some form of COVID normal and managing through those processes anyway.”
Mr Millington said the next step would be to open dialogue with tennis authorities to let them know Mildura would be ready.
“The first instance is to create that opportunity for discussion with Tennis Australia, and put our hand up as being one of the willing participants to be recognised,” Mr Millington said
“We host the Mildura Grand Tennis International every March. It gives us that springboard to say, ‘Hey there’s an opportunity here’.”
Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews this week did not confirm plans for the Australian Open, saying the vision for the state to host the entire summer of tennis was “far from a done deal”.
“It’s a massive event, it’s an event that all of us love … but it comes at a time when the rest of the world is on fire,” Mr Andrews said on Monday.
“The notion this is all a done deal and there’s going to be all these tennis players turning up — no, this is not settled at all.”
The unprecedented proposal by Tennis Australia would fly up to 550 players and their entourages, from mid-December, into Melbourne, where they would be allowed to play and train but be restricted to hotels or the tennis court until they had completed two weeks of quarantine.
They would then be free to travel around the state for competition.
Some events could be played after the January 18-31 open in a reworked calendar.
