13 February 2020 | Tennis West

Set to inspire the next generation of players, the 2020 Festival of Tennis will see 200 lucky youngsters, take home a free ANZ Tennis Hot Shots racquet, as part of the free family friendly event being held at the State Tennis Centre (Burswood) on Saturday 22 February.

Commencing at 10:00 am, racquets will be given away to the first 200 children* in attendance, with retired professional tennis player, Channel 9 commentator and special guest, Casey Dellacqua set to take part in the free giveaways, before joining in with the festivals celebrations ahead of the doubles final on Saturday and Singles final on Sunday.

The free family friendly event will be a hive of activity, with fun tennis activities running alongside a host of children’s entertainment including a toddler ball pit, face painting, a bouncy castle, an animal farm and music on stage from 10:00 am. In addition, the Channel 9 mobile news desk will be on site with plenty of giveaways and fun. With plenty of food and beverage options available for purchase, including a sausage sizzle, soft serve ice-cream, coffee and healthy snack options, the 2020 Festival of Tennis promises to be a great day out for everyone.

The festival, which sits as the centerpiece to the back to back W25 Perth International #1 and W25 Perth International #2 Pro Tour events, also offers the opportunity to witness some of the world’s best placed rising talent, battle it out on court for their share of the US$50,000 prize pool up for grabs the back-to-back swings.

Contesting the Perth International #1, WA local talent, and professional women’s player, Maddison Inglis (Maida Vale), will lead the main draw as the number one seed, with the WTA world number 118 well placed for a chance at the title.

Tennis West Manager of Competitions and Tournaments and Perth International Tournament Director, Loretta Hughes says she hopes that the Festival of Tennis will encourage a strong crowd down to the State Tennis Centre to enjoy the family friendly activities and witness some of the world’s top emerging players on court.

‘With such a great range of free family friendly activities available, we hope that people will use the opportunity to come down and enjoy the festival, before heading over to the tournament to watch some of the world’s top emerging women battle it out on court,’ Hughes said.

All the action of the Perth International #1 Pro Tour event kicks off on Monday 17 at the State Tennis Centre, with the Singles finals to be played on Sunday 23 February. For more information head to:https://www.itftennis.com/en/tournament/w25-perth/aus/2020/w-itf-aus-04a-2020/overview/

Festival of Tennis details:

Date:              Saturday 22 February

Time:              10:00 am – 2:00 pm

Where:          State Tennis Centre, 282 Victoria Park Rd,  Burswood, WA 6100

What:             ANZ Tennis Hot Shots racquet giveaways, Channel 9 giveaways and free family friendly activities commence at 10:00 am.

All day free entry to the Perth International Pro Tour event

To find out more about the Festival of Tennis, head to https://bit.ly/2SBXilD

*One racquet, per child under 10 years of age. Children must be in attendance to receive the racquet.

The Australian Pro Tour represents a series of 28 professional ITF World Tennis Tour and ATP Challenger tournaments held annually, in Australia, over 17 weeks between September and April. The Pro Tour calendar offers a total prize money pool of over US$1.1 million dollars annually, providing players with a competitive pathway; all-important earning opportunities, and ATP/WTA Tour world ranking points that facilitate a players livelihood as a professional player. The Calendar offers a range of different level tournaments to accommodate for professional players at different stages on the competitive pathway. More information can be found at https://www.tennis.com.au/tournaments/pro-tournaments/australian-pro-tour

Casey Dellacqua played professional tennis for 16 years, from 2002 until her retirement in 2018. She represented Australia in 21 Fed Cup ties and reached a career high, WTA singles ranking of world number 26 (September 2014), alongside an impressive career high WTA doubles ranking of world number 3 (February 2016).