Tennis NSW and Tennis Australia have decided to not hold tennis tournaments during the school term in NSW. The reason they have chosen to do this is to make sure that the players competing in tournaments on a regular basis, don’t miss school. They have also stated that this decision was supported by the tennis community however there is an overwhelming majority that thinks otherwise. The two reasons that this decision is negative to families in the tennis community are, one, there are still many tournaments being held in other states meaning they have an advantage in terms of match play. NSW is the only state without tournaments during the school term. This means that NSW players are getting less tournaments throughout the year therefore reducing their ability to gain ranking compared to other states. Some kids are still travelling interstate to play tournaments however this advantages the families that have the means to travel and take time of work. This also reduces the egalitarian nature of the sport. 

Two, the holidays are now packed with tournaments and since there are no tournaments in the school term, kids need to play tournaments to keep up their ranking. This leads to no family time during the holidays, which is one of the only times throughout the year when this can occur. This is especially negatively impacting country NSW players who board at school. If you board at school and live far away from school, the only time you get to see your family would be during the holidays. This is now meaning that players can’t spend any time with their family while staying a competitive level tennis player. 

In the past holidays there were 8 tournaments in NSW. However, it was only possible to play four at the maximum. This is because centres are fighting for dates to run their tournaments which means that tournaments overlap. 

Country tennis centres especially need tournaments as they provide some of the largest sources of income for centres. Some centres reportedly lost over 30 thousand dollars last year during the pandemic without tournaments. These centres are already in low populated areas meaning they would have less income than the average metro centre. 

In the past holidays I played three tournaments. I only got to spend six days with my family, and i was still training for the next tournament on these days. This was difficult for me as I am in high school and i already don’t get to spend much time with my family. The reason for this is because i have a large amount of homework and assessments and I am training for tennis almost everyday. 

We must convince Tennis Australia that this is unfair for NSW players and it is bad for NSW tennis in the long term. Please sign with this petition if you agree that this is unfair for tennis players across NSW.

Thank you