The biggest event on the Eurobodalla tennis calendar is fast approaching, with the South Coast Open to be held at the Batemans Bay Tennis Complex on June 12, 13 and 14.
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The players will be vying for $7580 in prize money, and there will be 325 of them. The event is expected to bring an extra 800 people to Batemans Bay over the three days.
The competitors will come from all over NSW, including Goulburn, Sydney and Merimbula, and they will compete in 25 events, in opens, singles, doubles, mixed doubles and special events ranked from A to C grade.
Players ranked in the top 500 in the world and the top 200 in Australia will play at the event.
Malua Bay’s Christian Parker will be one of the big local hopes.
Despite being only 16, Parker made it through to the third round of the Open last year in the men’s singles and the fourth round of the A grade men’s singles.
“I’m pretty confident I’ll go well this year,” he said.
“I will be upping my training over the next two months.”
He will form a strong combination with his brother Nelson, as will East Lynne’s Nigel and Edward Smith.
Glen Knox, who is ranked number 231 in the world, will be hard to beat, especially as he has won the mixed doubles and singles for the last two years.
Troy Smith is ranked in the top 21 in Australia, and is also expected to make his mark.
“It will be great if we can get more players to challenge Glen Knox,” Batemans Bay head coach Rob Frawley said.
“The more high-profile the players, the bigger the spectacle.”
The Batemans Bay Tennis Club will be using the admission fees and canteen money to fund the raising of the surfaces of courts five and six, and to replace the surfaces on four other courts.
For more information on the South Coast Open, go to www.batemansbaytennis.com.
