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2011/12 Aussie ITF circuit

34K views 475 replies 29 participants last post by  TS 
#1 · (Edited)
The end-of-year Aussie ITFs aren't far off now, starting in Alice Springs on Sep 5.

The entry list is out and although it'll change a bit before the tournament starts, some interesting things to note:

Jess Moore and Marija Mirkovic are early withdrawals. No sign of Sophie Letcher :sad: Monika Wejnert and Jade Hopper are still nowhere to be seen. And no Shannon Golds either :sad:

Aussie girls that are on the list include Sally Peers, Casey, Liv, Tammi P, Bojana, Izzy, Sophie F, Dani D, Monique plus lots of scrubs.

No Ashleigh Barty but my fave 2 NT players are on the list: Kassandra Dunser (who's been injured for a lot of this year) and Tarlina Tipungwuti, who's now in the top 100 in Australia after being unranked at the start of the year and is being coached by Alun Jones :)
 
#473 ·
Have you ever taken a look at how expensive it is to fly to Alice Springs? Unless you won the damn tourney you would struggle to break even on that leg which may be why they cut it. Pity about the courts in Darwin, was good when they played two challengers back to back.
 
#475 ·
The Pro Tours need to be within easy reach of a capital city and not in remote regions which are hard to get to and more costly for travel. Easier access enables participation for all players nationally, and from overseas, ie better competitive standards. There needs to be more opportunities for players to compete at different levels, and across the whole year, eg range of 10ks, 25Ks, and some 50Ks as is found overseas. 7-9 hour journeys from a capital city or from one Pro Tour location to another is crazy, and the facilities in remote regions are limited. Regional locals are typically not that interested in tennis compared to mainstream sports like "footy" codes or netball. The current system of putting Pro Tours way out in the boonies is of limited value other than for a few local hotels, and causing players additional unnecessary costs to compete.
 
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