Over the weekend, Tennis NSW in partnerships with the Lake Macquarie City Council, hosted the Lake Mac Women in Sport Tennis Open to celebrate International Women’s Week as part of the Women in Sport Festival.
First held in 2021, this doubles event continues to grow year on year, providing players with the opportunity to compete in a supportive and friendly atmosphere, where local women can come together, network, share experiences and forge meaningful connections.
This year, 58 players between the ages of 14 to 80 participated across the two divisions held at Total Tennis Lake Macquarie. Players travelled from as far away as Empire Bay, Forster, and Maitland to join in the festivities and celebrate women and girls both on and off the court.
Tennis NSW Central Regional Tennis Manager, Andrew Yapp, stated, “It’s an opportunity for us to not only put on a specific tennis event for women across the region but it’s a really good opportunity for a lot of the local women to come together and share experiences and develop some meaningful connections. We’re using tennis as the vehicle to facilitate that.
“It will be great to have Casey Dellacqua come up and be able to share her experiences and her expertise in activating the women and girls space.”
In addition to the tennis matches, players and spectators enjoyed a Q&A panel featuring special guest, Grand Slam Champion and Olympian, Casey Dellacqua, and local champions, Jenny Ann Hoffman, a former WTA player, and Physiotherapist Sarah Knights.
Casey, Jenny, and Sarah captivated the audience with their remarkable tennis stories, diverse viewpoints, and insights on the significance of expanding tennis opportunities for women and girls.
“I do believe that tennis has been a bit of a front-runner in terms of equity in sport, and we’ve been fortunate to have people like Billie Jean King along the way and the Williams sisters that really made sure that women had equal prizemoney and those type of things,”
“But there’s always work to be done. I’d love to see more women coaches. I’d love to see more women in leadership positions, particularly at their local clubs, whether that be club presidents.
“It’s also engaging with the youth of today and getting them involved at a younger age and really getting them to understand that everyone’s a leader in some way, shape or form.
“In tennis, we’ve done so much great work, but we’ve got to continue to keep our foot on the pedal.” Casey Dellacqua shared with the Newcastle Herald.
Congratulations to all the players who competed in the Lake Mac Women in Sport Tennis Open and our 2025 winners.
- Division 2 winners: Julie Brown, Lai Wei, Yuen (Empire Bay), Natalie Slater (Newcastle)
- Division 1 winners: Stephanie Bowler, Maddison Bowler, Sue Simpson, Kate Simpson (Terrigal)
A heartfelt thank you to Total Tennis Lake Macquarie for hosting this event, and to the Lake Macquarie City Council for your ongoing support.
To learn more about the available opportunities for women and girls at Tennis NSW, please visit our website here.
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