Newcastle and Gosford Mid-Week Ladies Tennis Clubs have taken a big step in re-energising inter-district tennis with the introduction of the Mid-Week Ladies Annual Tennis Challenge.
In the first event, hosted by the Gosford Mid-Week Ladies Club at Gosford Tennis Centre on October 12, Newcastle who came away with the inaugural trophy.
Forty-eight ladies ranging in age from mid-20s to over 70 took to the courts in a competition spanning two Divisions.
With early matches favouring the home side, Newcastle came home strong to take out the event 171 points to 149.
Newcastle committee member Julie Shearer said it was a wonderful experience for the ladies to play different people at a new event.
“Many players back in Newcastle will be envious that they missed out on the opportunity to be a part of the first interclub event,” she said.
“Thanks to the Gosford ladies committee led by Kathryn Kelly for their efforts in hosting the first event; it has been truly amazing.”
Kelly said the event is a key development in fostering broader playing opportunities for women locally and builds on a strong tradition of mid-week ladies’ tennis in Newcastle and the Central Coast.
Tennis NSW Tennis Development Officer, Kathy Barber, congratulated the clubs on the initiative.
“The Tennis NSW Strategic Plan highlights continuing development and delivery of Women and Girls initiatives and it’s so pleasing to see our local committees doing just this for local female players,” she said.
It is expected that some players will go on to be involved in further initiatives including Tennis NSW’s Sheroes program, connecting women in tennis across the state and championed by former WTA professional and current Women and Girls lead for Tennis NSW, Casey Dellacqua.
Newcastle will host the 2023 Mid-Week Ladies Annual Tennis Challenge event at the District Park Tennis Centre, Broadmeadow.
Source:
Media release, Oct 14
Gosford Mid-Week Ladies Club