13 September 2017 | Tennis Victoria

Tennis Victoria is pleased to announce the finalists for this year’s Victorian Tennis Awards – all to be announced at the 2017 Tennis Victoria Champions Dinner.

The Victorian Tennis Awards recognise Victoria’s various on and off court successes into one big community tennis celebration. These awards align with the Newcombe Medal / Australian Tennis Awards. To be eligible to be nominated for an Australian Tennis Award, nominees must have won their Victorian Tennis Award category.

Following an exhaustive application process, the nominees were recently informed of their successful inclusion for 2017.

Tennis Victoria CEO, Matthew Kennedy, was excited by the number of strong applications received and wished all the finalists good luck as the countdown begins to the 2017 Tennis Victoria Champions Dinner.

“We’re delighted to officially announce all the finalists for the Victorian Tennis Awards and congratulate them on what has clearly been a successful year,” Kennedy said.

“Each category was spoilt with outstanding applications and those that we are announcing as finalists should know how much of an achievement it is.

“Our team is already deep in their preparation for this year’s Tennis Victoria Champions Dinner, which is our way of recognising the outstanding contribution from the Victorian tennis community,” he said.

List of Victorian Tennis Awards finalists for 2017:

• Most Outstanding Club or Centre
  • Boroondara Tennis Centre
  • Hume Tennis and Community Centre
  • West Lalor Tennis Club
  • Woodend Tennis Club

• Volunteer Achievement
  • Andrew MacNeill
  • Lisa Niglia
  • Shirley Peake

• Coaching Excellence – Club or Centre
  • Lynton Joseph
  • Rufus Keown
  • Vicky Lee

• Most Outstanding Athlete with a Disability
  • Dylan Alcott
  • Heath Davidson
  • Carla Lenarduzzi

• Most Outstanding 35+ Tennis Senior
  • Glenn Busby
  • Jillian Meggs
  • Andrew Rae

• Supporting Tennis – Local Government Recognition
  • City of Boroondara
  • Brimbank City Council
  • City of Casey

• Most Outstanding School
  • Darley Primary School
  • Gippsland Grammar
  • St Gregory The Great Primary School

• Most Outstanding Tournament
  • 2017 BreakPoint Analysis Gold AMT
  • Melbourne Wheelchair Tennis Open 2017
  • 2016 Victorian Seniors Grasscourt Championships Yarrawonga

• Junior Athlete of the Year (Male)
  • Thomas Bosancic
  • Ken Cavrak
  • Matthew Dellavedova

• Junior Athlete of the Year (Female)
  • Destanee Aiava
  • Jaimee Fourlis
  • Jeanette Lin

Also to be announced in the awards class of 2017 is the Victorian Spirit of Tennis Award, formerly known as the Victorian Centenary of Tennis Award.

This prestigious award is presented to a person who has made a significant and valuable contribution to the advancement or popularity of the sport in any field, including: journalism, media, tournament management, general management at a national or state level, international management, supporting, coaching or playing. The recipient must have been born in Victoria or lived the majority of their life as a Victorian resident.

Previous winners of the Spirit of Tennis award include: Frank Sedgman (1980), Nicole Bradtke (1995), Wayne Arthurs (2007) and Daniela Di Toro (2013/14).

Tennis Victoria would like to take this opportunity to formerly congratulate all nominees and also thank those who submitted applications.

If you would like to book your spot at the 2017 Tennis Victoria Champions Dinner, click here.