The Australian Pro Tour will round out its South Australian swing at the Nyrstar Port Pirie Tennis International, to be held at the Port Pirie and District Tennis Association from 28 February – 8 March 2015.
The tournament will take place for a record 25th time, and is the longest standing Pro Tour event on the Australian calendar.
Over the years the event has seen a number of tennis superstar’s visit the city including Junior Wimbledon & Australian Open Winner Luke Saville, former world No.1 Amelie Mauresmo, former world No.8 Alicia Molik and current world No.35 Casey Dellacqua.
The hugely popular event will give local tennis fans the opportunity to watch up-and-coming players from around the country and abroad as they compete for USD $30,000 in prize money.
Qualifying will begin Saturday, 28 February with the main draw to commence on Tuesday, 3 March.
This year in the women’s field leading the international charge will be Hiroko Kuwata from Japan currently ranked at 168 in the world. Kuwata has joined the Australian circuit in a bid to build her ranking and will be joined by athletes from Japan, Netherlands, Korea and many more countries in the women’s draw.
South Australian’s Chloe Hule (Morphett Vale, SA), Nicole Collie (Adelaide, SA), Nicole Kraemer (Hallett Cove, SA) and Leah Daw (Hyde Park, SA) will contest the qualifying draw.
On the men’s side, the circuit will welcome 2007 Australian Open Junior Singles Champion and World No.243 Brydan Klein and Pro Tour favourite world No.531 Matthew Barton (Sydney, NSW).
Making up the local male contingent will be Darren Polkinghorne (Port Lincoln, SA) who will look to go deep into the Main Draw after an early exit at the 2015 Coopers Adelaide Tennis International. Daniel Hobart (Flaxley, SA) and Lawrence Bataljin (Tea Tree Gully, SA) will battle it out in qualifying when it begins on Saturday, 28 February.
Tournament Director Dylan Hicks praised the Port Pirie Regional Council and the tennis club for its support of the event and encouraged the community to come down to the courts and cheer on the players.
“This Australian Pro Tour event is an opportunity for the community to watch top quality players for free, while showcasing the Port Pirie area to a wider sporting audience,” said Hicks.
“Port Pirie always warmly embraces the Pro Tour to the city each year, making it a hugely popular tournament for players.
“Tennis fans can come down to support local emerging talent including Darren Polkinghorne, Daniel Hobart and Lawrence Bataljin as they pit themselves against established international players.”
The Nyrstar Port Pirie Tennis International is part of the 2015 Australian Pro Tour, a series of professional tennis events that bridge junior events and the ATP/WTA Tour, providing an opportunity for players to earn their first world ranking points.
For more information on the Australian Pro Tour, Tennis Australia or the players visit www.tennis.com.au. For more information on the ITF Pro Circuit visit www.itftennis.com.
For Australian Pro Tour score updates follow @oztennisresults on Twitter.
Latest
SA