SWAN Hill Lawn Tennis & Croquet Club will serve up the action of the world’s largest grass court tournament next year.
Tennis Victoria Country Week will return next February 9 to 14, Swan Hill’s 19th time hosting in the event’s 42-year history.
A favourite location of Country Week participants, Swan Hill is the only venue where the tournament can host all 100 grass courts on a single site.
In addition to the club’s 51 permanent grass courts, the club has the ability to transform Ken Harrison Reserve’s soccer fields into an additional 50 temporary courts.
Players from across a number of divisions will make the trip to Swan Hill for the event, with almost 1500 competitors expected.
Club president Christian Devlin said Swan Hill’s Country Week success had left them in good stead for future tournaments.
“We are very fortunate to be a major part of (Tennis Victoria’s) plans going forward,” he said.
“We are looking at possibly securing Country Week every third year, which is very generous.
“This is a very competitive space; we’ve got other rural city councils campaigning and trying to get into the fold.
“Luckily for us we have got a fantastic greenkeeper, we’ve got world-class facilities and we are working really hard to secure the future here.
“We are highly revered in the country tennis and grass court scenes, even this week we’ve got some people from Wimbledon over to do some research.”
Devlin said a long history of high standards allowed the club to build from a strong base.
“The past people around this club are the ones who have laid such fantastic foundations for us,” he said.
“It got to a point maybe five to 10 years ago where we thought the facility had actually got a bit too big for our town.
“But when we have events like Country Week and the Pro Tour, it really makes us a lot more relevant.
“We’re not looking to downsize at all, we are looking to get even better.”
Swan Hill Mayor Stuart King said the community’s continued support of Country Week was testament to the hard work of the club.
“The people of Swan Hill love when Country Week comes to town – that’s not just because of the economic benefits, but it’s the vibe that it brings to Swan Hill,” he said.
“There’s a lot of action, a lot of things going on, and just being able to connect with people from different areas.
“The support is fantastic from Tennis Victoria and Tennis Australia. Both of those organisations love Swan Hill.”
Devlin expressed his gratitude to the club’s major sponsor, Murray Downs Golf & Country Club, and said their support was integral to continue the club’s success.
He said the sponsorship and the council’s support “allows us to secure the most underrated tennis tournament in the world”.
“I’ll definitely be playing in the tournament, and I will be putting a lot of pressure on Stuart to get out there as well,” Devlin said.
See also: Net benefits
