Court Upgrade At Perth Facility

Written by: Bob Larson Tennis on 19th December 2013

Court Upgrade At Perth Facility

epa03520248 John Isner for the USA serves to Kevin Anderson for South Africa during the mens singles match of the Hopman Cup tennis tournament between the USA and South Africa in Peth, Australia, 30 December 2012. EPA/TONY MCDONOUGH AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND OUT |

Western Australia is doing all it can to help its young hopefuls get a leg up as they begin their tennis career, with three courts at the State Tennis Centre at Burswood, Perth, recently resurfaced to exactly match those used at the Australian Open.

In addition, the Plexicushion surface is also used at the Hopman Cup, which begins next Saturday in the Western Australia capital. The $45,000 re-paving project was a joint exercise between Department of Sport and Recreation, Tennis Australia and Tennis West, the local sanctioning body.

Officials hope that the move will be a help in developing future talent in the isolated, mineral-rich state. “It was really important that the top players around the world have similar conditions to practice on,” said Sports Minister Terry Waldron. “Even more important than that is our local young players, who are the future of tennis, have the opportunity to play on the good courts.”

The addition of extra courts also helps out with the demand on practice courts for the eight-nation Hopman Cup, “It is so important with the Hopman Cup that we have great practice facilities because the players want to come to Australia early,” said tournament director Paul “Killa” Kilderry.

“They want to play as much tennis as they can, get used to the exact same conditions as what they are going to have at the Australian Open so it’s imperative that we have great facilities and this is a really big boost for us.”

The tournament boss said that while he had no idea who might win the Australian Open tune-up, he did confirm that John Tomic, banned from the ATP until the spring for an attack in Madrid, would not be allowed to enter the Perth arena.

Topics: 10sballs.com, Atp, Australian Open, Hopman Cup, John Tomic, Paul Kilderry, Perth Arena, State Tennis Centre, Tennis, Tennis News, Terry Waldron