Stockland Highlands welcomes the world's best wheelchair tennis players this summer
Stockland and Tennis Australia have today announced the Australian Wheelchair Tennis Summer Series will once again be held at the Hume Tennis and Community Centre in Stockland Highlands.
The summer series includes the Victorian Wheelchair Tennis Open – ITF1, which will run from 8 to 12 January 2024, and the Stockland Melbourne Wheelchair Open – Super Series from 14 to 19 January 2024. These tournaments are qualifying events for the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games.
In an exciting development for 2024, the series is expected to have full draws in all divisions – men’s, women’s quad, and junior – making it one of the largest and strongest wheelchair tournament fields seen across the world.
The launch was attended by four-time Australian Open doubles champion and Paralympic doubles gold medallist, Heath Davidson, who’ll be competing in both the Victorian Wheelchair Open and Melbourne Wheelchair Open next month, as well as local Hume player and 14-year-old wildcard holder, Jin Woodmen.
Stockland Development Director, James Hawker said as a sponsor since 2018, Stockland is honoured to be hosting the series again.
“This tournament is a celebration of some of the best athletes across the world and we’re looking forward to welcoming fans as they enjoy some great tennis here at Highlands,” Mr Hawker said.
“Our partnership with Tennis Australia has enabled us to continue to provide the community with access to exceptional sporting events that will hopefully inspire the next generation of sport stars.”
Tennis Australia Head of Players with a Disability, Danielle Gescheit said they were thrilled to be able to host another amazing summer of events and continue to grow the sport even further.
“The increased draw sizes at both lead in events at Hume Tennis Centre and Australian Open 2024 will ensure even more players have the opportunity to compete in Australia this January,” Ms Gescheit said.
Paralympian Heath Davidson reflected on the tournament’s growth and said he was here at the first event which had around 50 players.
“Fast forward nine years and we’ve got one of the world’s biggest tournaments. It’s a huge thank you to the team at Tennis Australia. I can’t wait to get the summer started – bring on Hume and then bring on the AO,” Mr Davidson said.
The Hume Tennis and Community Centre opened in 2017. Stockland contributed $1 million to the development of the facility and partnered with Tennis Australia and Hume Council to deliver 16 accessible courts and a community centre.
The Hume Tennis and Community Centre is located at 225 Marathon Boulevard, Craigieburn, around 40 kilometres north of the Melbourne CBD.
For more information on Stockland Highland news click here and for more information on Tennis Australia’s Wheelchair Summer Series click here.