30 October 2015 | Tennis SA

Tennis SA will host its inaugural Festival of Tennis at Memorial Drive, the home of tennis in South Australia, from Friday 20 November to Thursday 26 November 2015.

A total of eight individual and team events, over four venues with more than 1500 participants, will feature at the Festival of Tennis, showcasing the player pathway from participation to performance.

The festival will start on Friday 20 November with 22-time Grand Slam champion Todd Woodbridge set to open the festival at the WTC Corporate Challenge.

As part of the WTC Corporate Challenge, teams will have the chance to play with Woodbridge as the ‘Ultimate doubles sub’. The 1997 Australian hardcourt champion is looking forward to heading back to Adelaide to help launch the festival.

“South Australia has been a breeding ground for some of Australia’s tennis champions, including the likes of John Fitzgerald, my partner Mark Woodforde and Lleyton Hewitt,” Woodbridge said.

“We are keen to see the development of the sport continue and the Festival of Tennis is a great way to showcase and foster the talent in Adelaide at all levels.”

The Australian Open trophies, the Daphne Akhurst Memorial Cup and Norman Brookes Challenge Cup will also be travelling to Adelaide as special guests.

Friday evening will see the Asia-Pacific Tennis League (ATL) begin at Tea Tree Gully Tennis Club. The ATL South Conference, the pinnacle of club tennis, involves teams from Western Australia, Tasmania and South Australia.

Teams will play three round robin matches across the weekend, including a twilight match at Kensington Gardens Lawn Tennis Club on Saturday 21 November, followed by the final round at Next Generation Memorial Drive at 12:30 pm on Sunday 22 November.

ANZ Tennis Hot Shots participants from across the state are being encouraged to try their luck at ‘Hit the Target’ and ‘Speed Serve’ during the ANZ Tennis Hot Shots carnival to be held at Memorial Drive Tennis Centre on Sunday 22 November.

Tennis enthusiasts will also have the chance to win one mixed doubles wildcard into Australian Open 2016 through the Win a Wildcard competition. Qualifying matches will be held over three grades at Next Generation Memorial Drive on Sunday 22 November.

“We are happy to announce the full program of events for the newly formed Festival of Tennis and to welcome Todd Woodbridge to Adelaide for the WTC Corporate Challenge,” said Steven Baldas, Tennis SA Chief Executive Officer.

“The Festival of Tennis is set to include eight tennis events and will showcase all levels of the sport in Adelaide over one action packed weekend.”

“We are also thrilled to host the Australian Open trophies and encourage the public to come down and have their photo with them,” Baldas added.

Festival of Tennis program of events:

For more information on the Festival of Tennis visit tennis.com.au/sa and for WTC Corporate Challenge visit worldtennischallenge.com.