28 September 2023 | Tennis Queensland
International tennis will return to Cairns this Sunday, with the Australian Pro Tour kicking off at the Cairns International Tennis Centre.
Two consecutive ITF men’s and women’s singles and doubles events will run from 1-8 October and 8-15 October, providing players with the opportunity to compete for a combined prize pool of $100,000 USD, in addition to valuable world ranking points.
2022 Cairns Tennis International Champion Lizette Cabrera will return to the Far North for a second year to defend her singles title. With a current Australian Ranking of 8, Townsville born Cabrera has had a breakthrough year, recently advancing to the 2023 Australian Open Mixed Doubles Quarterfinals alongside fellow Townsville local John-Patrick Smith.
Cairns Mayor Bob Manning said, “This is an event that Council has supported for more than a decade, and which has consistently served up brilliant tennis from some of the best national and international and coming players.
It is the sort of event that the Cairns International Tennis Centre was built to host, and adds to the city’s reputation as a premium sporting destination
More than 160 players will converge on the city for this year’s 16-day event, and for those who unfortunately don’t get to the finals, there’s probably no better place in the world to get knocked out than a tropical paradise like Cairns.”
Paul Horn, Cairns International Tennis Centre Representative said, “athletes and locals alike are thrilled with the return of the Australian Pro Tour to Cairns with two weeks of back to back tennis.
The Cairns International Tennis Centre is a stellar venue and it is great to see Australia’s up and coming talent competing here in Cairns, on home turf, against a good mix of international players.”
The Australian Pro Tour is a collaboration of International Tennis Federation (ITF) women’s and men’s circuit and is a platform used to introduce tennis players to professional tennis and provide a pathway to the WTA and ATP tours.
Tennis Australia’s Pro Tour Manager Fiona Luscombe said, “The Australian Pro Tour is an integral part of the high performance pathway for our emerging athletes.
Being able to host international events such as ITF Pro Tour right here in Australia is so important for providing athletes not only locally and the Asia-Pacific region the opportunity to experience competing at an international level.”
The general public can head along to the Cairns events for free. It’s a fantastic opportunity for families, fans and aspiring players from across the region to get down and watch some of Australia and the world’s best up-and-coming talent.
The Cairns Tennis International #1 and #2 Pro Tour events runs between 1-15 October 2023 and offers a prize money pool of $100,000 US dollars.
2023 Cairns Tennis International #1 Acceptance List:
For Australian Pro Tour live scores, a live stream of selected events and additional information visit www.tennis.com.au/protour.
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