Haven’t picked up a tennis racket in a while? Got family who would like to play together but don’t know what’s on offer at the local tennis club? Then the upcoming ‘Love Tennis Weekend’ might be just the ticket.

The Wanaka Tennis Club is opening its gates on the afternoons of October 10-11 to welcome anyone who wants to come along and see what the club has to offer.

Club president Jeanette Hatten said the club is encouraging families to turn up as there will be fun activities, smaller courts and nets set up for young players, and the club’s two resident coaches will be there showing off their skills.   

Racquets and balls can be provided and there will be some interesting racquets to try, a speed gun to gauge just how fast people serve, and other activities.

The open afternoons are part of a national ‘Love Tennis’ campaign designed to encourage more people to play tennis and this is the first time the club has participated.

Two of the club’s seven courts are undergoing new surfacing which the club hopes will be completed before the open days.

“Wanaka Tennis Club has a big membership compared to most tennis clubs,” Jeanette said, “and with seven courts we almost always have courts available for play.”

The club has roughly 350 members, including holiday family members, she said but “we are hoping to encourage more families to join as our numbers of juniors and younger adults are smaller than we would like”.  

Breen Homes is sponsoring a barbeque and there will be prizes and giveaways, Jeanette said. 

There’s also a nationwide prize draw for anyone attending the open afternoons to enter with a chance to win a trip for two to the Te Anau Invitational Tennis Tournament on December 28-29, including flights to Queenstown for two (not so important for Wanaka players), transfers to Te Anau, two nights accommodation at Te Anau’s Distinction Luxmore Hotel, courtside hospitality including food and beverage, and a scenic helicopter flight with Southern Lakes Helicopter.

The club is well established in central Wanaka with a strong membership.

All are welcome to come play for free from 1:00pm - 4:00pm on Saturday October 10 and Sunday October 11 at the club’s courts on Upton Street, Wanaka.

The club is also currently replacing the surface on two of its courts and planning to extend its lighting system to cover these two courts as well as the current one. With three courts lit members will be able to play longer into the evening, especially in spring and autumn, Jeanette said.  

“Our social tennis team’s event on Wednesday evenings will benefit from this as, at the beginning and end of this, we sometimes struggle with the light. It will also mean we can have coaching later into the evenings.”

Once the new courts are finished the club will resume hosting fixtures against Queenstown and Clyde Tennis Clubs. 

The club’s new season officially begins with the George Morris Memorial Trophy tournament at Labour Weekend (Saturday October 24). 

The big annual tennis tournament, the Wanaka Open, will return just after New Year but this year’s annual Junior Open tournament has been moved to later in January (22-24) to enable more local juniors to be able to participate, she said.

PHOTOS: Wanaka Tennis Club