Tennis fever hits UQ

While the country’s annual summer of tennis will come to a close after the Australian Open Grand Slam, “tennis-mania” has left its mark among students and the local community, with the UQ Tennis Centre fielding record numbers of inquiries from people wanting to take up tennis.

With last month’s Brisbane International tournament smashing last year’s ticket sales by more than 20 percent, interest in tennis among Brisbane residents has enjoyed a further boost from the likes of international stars such as Andy Roddick and Ana Ivanovic competing in Brisbane.

The Brisbane International, which was played at the UQ Sport-operated Queensland Tennis Centre at Tennyson, has helped the Queensland Tennis Centre and the UQ Tennis Centre at St Lucia enjoy an influx of new customers keen to give tennis a go.

UQ Tennis Centre Operations Manager Adrianne Gay says Australia’s annual summer season of tennis has always helped re-ignite people’s interest in the sport.

“Tennis has always enjoyed increased popularity at this time of year but having an international tournament played in Brisbane the past two years has really taken that interest to a new level,” Ms Gay says.

“We’ve had so many inquiries from people who have never played tennis before but are keen to give it a go, so our beginner coaching classes for both adults and children are proving very popular at the moment.”

The UQ Tennis Centre is open daily and offers court hire, coaching and fixtures for both adults and children of any skill level.

If Australia’s recent tennis action, however, failed to inspire you to pick up a racquet, UQ Sport offers a huge range of other sports and activities to try including swimming, athletics, pilates, rowing, netball, soccer and a range of group fitness classes.

To find out more about what UQ Sport has to offer, visit www.uqsport.com.au or call 3365 6612.

Media: Eleni Louca (0438 941 693, elenil@uqs.com.au).