Melbourne VIC, Australia, 24 April 2018 | tennis.com.au

Grand Slam champion Sam Stosur on Tuesday launched the 2018 edition of the ANZ Tennis Hot Shots Racquet Roadshow which will see 110,000 racquets in the hands of first-year primary school students by year end, thanks to ANZ.

Speaking at Holy Name Primary School, Melbourne, Stosur said the ANZ Tennis Hot Shots Racquet Roadshow was a fantastic initiative to get more kids active and playing tennis.

“Tennis was such an important part of my childhood and it’s fantastic to see kids pick up a racquet and get involved in the sport through the ANZ Tennis Hot Shots Racquet Roadshow,” Stosur said.

“With more than 300,000 kids actively participating in grassroots tennis it’s just another way to encourage more kids to be active and healthy and pick up a sport they can play for a lifetime.”

The annual tour across Australia will this year see tennis ambassadors and legends Todd Woodbridge, John Fitzgerald and Alicia Molik, along with local ANZ representatives, visit more than 30 schools and take part in on-court tennis clinics in every Australian state and territory.

ANZ Tennis Hot Shots and Tennis Australia’s School Partnership Program aims to encourage more children to pick up a racquet and learn tennis as part of their health and physical education curriculum.

ANZ’s ongoing support of the initiative has already seen 80,000 racquets delivered to first year primary school students since January 2015, with a further 30,000 to be delivered in 2018.

ANZ Tennis Hot Shots Racquet Roadshow fast facts

• The ANZ Tennis Hot Shots Racquet Roadshow will visit every capital city in all states and territories as well as regional towns including Ballarat, Dubbo, Townsville, Broome, Katherine and Port Lincoln
• Alongside the 30 school visits, an additional 500 schools will also receive ANZ Tennis Hot Shots racquets this year
• There are currently more than 2650 schools participating in ANZ Tennis Hot Shots through the School Partnership Program as part of their health and physical education curriculum, a 20 per cent increase on 2016-17
• A record 384,584 children played ANZ Tennis Hot Shots nationwide in 2016-17.

Tennis Australia CEO Craig Tiley said he looked forward to seeing the momentum of the ANZ Tennis Hot Shots Racquet Roadshow continue.

“We are extremely pleased to see a further 30,000 racquets will be delivered to students across Australia during the second year of the ANZ Tennis Hot Shots Racquet Roadshow. This ongoing initiative shows our continued joint commitment with ANZ to increasing tennis participation and ensuring kids are active at school,” Tiley said.

“Schools play a huge role in the development of children, and at Tennis Australia we want to continue to support schools in providing an environment where the health and wellbeing of students is a top priority.”

Commenting on the initiative, ANZ Group Executive Fred Ohlsson said: “We’re committed to supporting tennis at all levels around Australia through ANZ Tennis Hot Shots and are thrilled to be delivering an additional 30,000 racquets around the country to get more children playing tennis.”

ANZ Tennis Hot Shots fast facts

• ANZ Tennis Hot Shots is Tennis Australia’s official development program specifically designed to introduce primary school children between five and 12 years of age to tennis. The program uses smaller courts, racquets and low compression tennis balls
• ANZ Tennis Hot Shots is one of Australia’s most popular junior sports participation programs
• A record 384,584 children played ANZ Tennis Hot Shots nationwide in 2016/17
• ANZ Tennis Hot Shots is popular with both genders: 44% girls and 56% boys participated in the program in 2016/17.

Tennis Australia School Partnership Program

• Tennis is one of the leading sports delivered through the Australian Sports Commission Sporting Schools initiative
• There are more than 2650 Tennis Australia partner schools in Australia delivering tennis as part of their health and physical education curriculum
• Since January 2015, ANZ has provided 80,000 racquets to school students around Australia who take part in Tennis Australia’s School Partnership Program
• Tennis Australia’s School Partnership Program aims to give children the opportunity to pick up a racquet and play tennis as part of their health and physical education curriculum.
• All Tennis Australia school resources are linked to the Australian Curriculum: Health and Physical Education and have been endorsed by the Australian Council for Health and Physical Education Recreation (ACHPER). For more information please visit com.au/schools.

For further information on ANZ Tennis Hot Shots please visit hotshots.tennis.com.au.