SENIOR tennis-lovers across Wellington will be belting the rust off their racquets on Saturday, when the Wellington Gippsland Tennis Association roars back into its summer pennant.
The first round will see Maffra play host to the majority of matches in a welcome back celebration, with a section two match to be played at Sale and Heyfield respectively.
In section one, Maffra will field three teams with the hopes of defending its 2018-19 premiership, with a shake-up of last year’s sides resulting in new partnerships across the board.
Sale has recruited well to field two teams this year, promising to bring plenty of new faces through section one, while Stratford has also secured competition veterans Lisa Harrison and Andrew Ross to bring plenty of experience to their side.
A Longford section one team will be a new inclusion this season, but will see the return of a few old favourites.
In section two, Sale Blue took top honours in March, but this year the competition will be hotly contested with nine teams vying for a 2020 title.
Sale will field three teams, Heyfield two, Maffra two, and Stratford and Longford one each.
After a prolonged hiatus, section three sees the welcome return of a Briagolong senior team to the ranks, joining Sale, Longford and three Maffra sides for the 2019/20 season.
The association’s junior competition returns next weekend on October 12.
With Sale Tennis Club’s multimillion dollar redevelopment still under construction (but its spanking new clubrooms good to go for this season), Stratford’s Pine Lodge are set to replace four of its courts, Maffra Lawn Tennis Club firmly in the grips of a major renovation planning process and Heyfield Tennis Club’s two new courts, big things are clearly in store for tennis in Gippsland.
