Canberra, 26 November 2010 | tennis.com.au

Minister for Sport Senator Mark Arbib today announced funding of $3 million over four years for tennis participation programs.

Tennis Australia, along with Cricket Australia and the AFL, received the highest level of funding in the government’s $44 million dollar investment, which will take place over four years and be divided among 29 sporting organisations.

“We are very excited about the opportunity this additional funding gives us to accelerate and leverage our existing infrastructure investments,” Steve Wood, Tennis Australia’s CEO said.

“We’ve done extensive research and this funding will allow us to activate the high level of interest Australians have in tennis, and help us further grow the number of people actively involved in our sport.

“This additional funding will assist us to connect even more closely with our clubs and coaches and help them deliver more tennis in local communities,” Robin O’Neill, Tennis Australia’s General Manager Community Tennis said.

“We are proud of our accomplishments to date and appreciative of this support from the government, which will significantly help us grow the sport and promote tennis as part of a healthy lifestyle.”

Senator Arbib said the new investment was the single biggest injection in sports participation funding to sporting organisations in Australia’s sporting history.

“This additional funding will reinvigorate involvement in sport at a local community level and help tackle issues such as obesity and to help get Australians moving,” Senator Arbib said.

“It will enable sporting bodies to significantly boost their participation rates at a grassroots level, getting more families involved and building healthier, more active communities.

“This new funding will enable Australian sporting organisations to lift sports participation numbers significantly at all levels, while ensuring Australia’s continued elite sporting success,” Senator Arbib said.