TA Press Release, August 5, 2020

World No.1 Ashleigh Barty joined fellow Queenslanders John Millman, Lizette Cabrera and John-Patrick Smith to officially launch the new roof at the Cairns International Tennis Centre before having a hit and meeting with members of the local tennis community on Saturday.

The redevelopment of the Cairns International Tennis Centre roof structure has been a $2.7 million project funded through the Federal Government’s Building Our Future Regional Jobs and Investment Package (RJIP) to the value of $997,000, with Council contributing a further $1.7million to the project. 

“It’s incredible. I haven’t actually been up here to play at this tennis centre before, so it was nice to come up and to see the roof. It’s going to do massive things – not just for professional tennis but also for grassroots tennis and I think that’s the ultimate goal and what the investment was for, was to help tennis through all ages and all levels,” Barty said. 

The players were joined by Cr Bob Manning OAM, Mayor of Cairns , Warren Entsch MP, Federal Member for Leichhardt and Warwick Nicol, Tennis Queensland Chair in an official ceremony to launch the facility. Barty was invited to serve the first ball under the new roof structure. 

The roof will provide some protection from inclement weather, both in the heat of summer and during the wet season, enabling tennis to be played year-round. The roof also extends to shade four junior Hot Shots courts.