Local tennis a hit again

AFTER being heavily impacted by COVID-19 and last year’s floods, the Heathcote Tennis Club is again running regular social sessions and have begun entering teams in competition.

As part of the club’s resurgence 11 players competed in a Fast4 Tournament at the club last weekend.

“For some it was their first taste of match experience and for others, their first time playing Fast4,” said club secretary Vikki McNaughton/

Fast4 tennis began in Melbourne in 2014 and has been described as the tennis version of Twenty20 cricket, similar to the traditional form of the game but with shortened matches.

“Everyone had a smashing good time and we are going to incorporate the Fast4 format into our Tuesday night social hits,” said Ms McNaughton.

“The sport was heavily impacted by the pandemic, then the floods. We put out a call on Facebook in August to see if there was any interest and it has snowballed from there.

“We now have 31 registered members, a team to enter in the Eaglehawk and District Tennis Association and social hits.”

The club offers three time slots for players of all experience levels. Sundays 9.30am to 11am, Wednesdays from 10am to 12pm and Tuesdays from 6pm.

“Anyone is welcome to come along to any session. We love it when people show up for a social hit,” Ms McNaughton said.

“We’ve even had tourists pop in and join us. Membership was made free for this summer to encourage people to see how they like it. We can supply racquets, too.”

Ms McNaughton said she is hoping to continue to provide opportunities to play tennis in the off-season to keep the momentum going.

“Getting junior tennis up and running is our next priority and I would really like to get a mum, dads and bubs group running next year if people are interested,” she said.

“We will have a stall at the Community Smiles Day with activities for kids and where people can register their interest.”

If anyone would like to find out more, they can email [email protected], phone 0432 284 775 or message through the Heathcote Tennis Club Facebook page.