World number one Dylan Alcott will be the headline act at Hume Tennis Centre’s 2016 Swisse Melbourne Wheelchair Tennis Open.
The third of three tournaments in the Australian wheelchair summer series, it will be the first time the event has been held at the Craigieburn-based centre.
The other two events are in Brisbane and Sydney, as part of the Sydney and Brisbane International events.
Centre manager Tim Connelly said 60 players had entered the tournament across the two different categories, wheelchair singles and quad singles, in both male and female singles and doubles events.
He said that with the Olympic Games to be held in Rio in 2016, participation at the summer series events had increased in the last couple of years.
“Every Olympic year the competition increases as players want to qualify for the Olympics,” he said. “They need to get as many ranking points as possible.
“We have players coming from China, Japan, Argentina, Great Britain and all the major federations. It’s a true international event.”
Connelly said the centre was thrilled to be selected to host the event, which was originally set to be played in Adelaide.
“We have a first-class venue and an International Tennis Federation-quality centre court.
“The centre is close to the airport, which makes the centre appealing.
“Hume Council is excited about the event, as this is what they had the facility built for. We’re looking to make it an annual tournament.
“The whole goal was to create facilities that provide for player development and provide inspiration for players to get out and play tennis. We think hosting events like this helps with that.”
Connelly said the centre and council were hoping the tournament would provide a boost to the local economy, with all the players and support staff staying within Hume.
He also said he hoped it would be the start of bigger tournaments coming to the centre.
“Hopefully we can start having ITF tournaments for senior and junior age groups,” he said.
“Hopefully we can start getting international players out to the junior events and they can use the events as warm-ups for major events like the Australian Open.”
The centre is still looking for volunteers to help with the tournament, including ball kids.
Entry to the event, which starts on Monday, is free.
Details: 1300 486 382
