1 March 2023 | Tennis ACT

This Saturday, Tennis ACT will celebrate their centenary, marking 100 years of tennis across the ACT & Region.

On 21 March 1923, the Federal Territory Tennis Association was established, followed by Canberra’s first tennis competition in late 1923. Five affiliate clubs competed in the A Grade Men’s Competition, including Canberra, Eastlake, Northbourne, West Ridge and Queanbeyan, with Queanbeyan taking home the trophy. These clubs were officially affiliated, as they paid the fee of five shillings to compete.

100 years on, Tennis ACT now has 31 clubs, 36 affiliates, 82 partner schools and 32,426 participants (July 2022).

The night will include tennis legends and icons of the sport all with unique connections to Canberra.   The stars include former world No. 1’s (singles and doubles), Australian representatives, multiple Grand Slam Champions / finalists and players that have represented the ACT at the highest level on the elite stage:

• Neale Fraser AO, MBE  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neale_Fraser
• John Fitzgerald OAM; https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Fitzgerald_(tennis)
• John Alexander OAM   https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Alexander_(Australian_politician)
• Helen Gourlay  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Helen_Gourlay
• Wally Masur  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wally_Masur
• Todd Larkham, Amanda Grahame, Jodi Richardson, Ros Balodis
• Nill & George Kyrgios
• Further special guests, Government representatives and tennis stakeholders

Tennis ACT CEO Kim Kachel, “We are looking forward to a fantastic night, to celebrate this huge milestone. The ACT & Region bats well above its average in all aspects of the sport, from players at the top of their game, to participation numbers. This is truly an exciting event and we look forward to celebrating with the Canberra community”.

Kachel continued “with a capacity crowd at the National Arboretum, it provides the Canberra community the opportunity to look back fondly on the last 100 years, and to imagine what the next 100 years of tennis in the ACT & Region will look like”.