The history of tennis in Australia begins nearly 150 years ago.

It would appear that tennis spread rapidly throughout Queensland, New South Wales, Victoria and Adelaide from its introduction in 1875 when the first tennis court was constructed in Hobart and the first English professional arrived on Australian soil.

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Norman Brookes brought Australia's tennis to elite when back in 1907 he became the first Australian player (and also the first left handed player), to win Wimbledon.

Since then, numerous professional tennis players have contributed to the glory of the sport.

Players like Roy Emerson, John Newcombe, Tony Roche, Ken Rosewall, Fred Stolle and Rod Laver have consolidated Australian players as elite players. During the sixties at least one grand slam event was won by an Australian player every year.

It is worth mentioning "Rocket" Rod Laver won the Australian Open, French Open, Wimbledon and the US Open (all four) in the same year in 1962 and 1969.

For this and many other accomplishments, Laver is widely regarded as one of the greatest tennis players in the history of sports.

Lleyton Hewitt continued that tradition, having won 30 ATP singles titles including two Grand Slam titles, two ATP Masters 1000 and two (number 1) year ending championships.

Women's tennis in Australia also has its share of top international stars in the history of the sport.

The greatest Australian women's tennis player would have to be the "Aussie Amazon", Margaret Court. From 1960 to 1973 she absolutely dominated women's tennis.

Her list of accomplishments include winning 21 singles titles in one season putting her ahead of every other player in the Open Era in this category. Margaret Court has obtained 11 Grand Slam titles ranking fifth in the history of the sport.

We cannot forget to mention players like Harry Hopman, Evonne Goolagong Cawley, Pat Cash, Patrick Rafter, Samantha Stosur, Jelena Dokic among many others.

But, tennis in Australia is not only in the past, as a matter of fact, it is more current than ever before, our very own Ash Barty ended the year number one in the world and contributed to take Australia to the final in the renowned Fed Cup.

Alex De Minaur ended the year two in the world in the under 20 year old players category and 18th in the general Singles Ranking.

Ashleigh Barty (23), from Ipswich, Australia and Alex De Minaur (20) native of Sydney, Australia are leading our next generation of tennis players. A generation of humble, hard working, enthusiastic and with high standard values is taking the Aussie tennis machinery to the next level and beyond.

Tennis is becoming more and more popular and it is only logical. It is a sport that carries so many benefits, a very small number of other sports can compete with.

In the formats introduced to the new generations tennis is very inclusive and social (players as young as three and four years old can start their tennis journey with low compression balls, smaller racquets, nets and courts) and welcoming to children with very different personalities.

On the other side, Tennis Australia caters for players competing in the '85 years old and over' category and it is not that hard to find enthusiastic players, men and women, over 90 year old still loving their time on court.

In our local community, across the Southern Highlands, more than 200 juniors play the sport regularly.

The 'Highlands Tennis Academy' offers a nurturing and welcoming atmosphere for those families interested in enrolling their children to start their tennis journey.

Our main goal is to provide a 'caring, nurturing and welcoming atmosphere' to every child wishing to try tennis out.

During this term four, over 60 players are participating in a singles and doubles competition by teams and by individuals at Frensham Tennis Courts.

Organized by the 'Highlands Tennis Academy' children from 'WWS Gib Gate', 'The Kings School - Tudor House' and a vast number of other schools (attending to regular lessons at Moss Vale Tennis Club) are part of this event and loving their time on and off the court.

The entire Southern Highland community is invited to watch the finals are to take place on Saturday, November 30 from 8am to 12pm at WWS Frensham school tennis courts.

Moss Vale Tennis Club (MVTC) has developed a well elaborated strategic plan with a clear vision to the future.

The Highlands Tennis Academy, in collaboration with the Moss Vale Tennis Club, is committed to the new generation of tennis players.

"Our goal is to connect more people, juniors and adults, across the Southern Highlands" director of coaching and TA junior development coach Sergio Rojas Tessel said.

"The MVTC has been responsible for close to $400,000 in improvements at the Moss Vale Tennis facility over the last 15 years, including lighting, resurfacing, upgrades to the court surrounds and a personalised keypad court entry system.

"The Wingecarribee Shire Council has also carried out improvements at other locations including a new performance tiles surface system in Jurd Park, Colo Vale."

"Tennis Australia is getting ready to launch their largest marketing campaign in Australian history and will be promoted during the 2020 summer of tennis.

"The campaign is all about encouraging lapsed adult tennis players to get back on court. And why not? Playing tennis brings so many benefits, including the social, mental, emotional and physical to all ages."

At Moss Vale Tennis Club we are excited to introduce three new initiatives designed specifically for beginner players, intermediate- advanced junior players looking for more competition and adults of all ages and level.

At the core of our programs is an innovative, practical philosophy, a game sense learning pathway, as a suitable alternative to a more traditional technical approach.

Our game based approach comes down to helping players to play from the very first lesson. Players are encouraged to serve, rally and score while refining their tennis skills in a meaningful situation that relates to the game of tennis.

Our developmental pathways are designed in three levels: introducing children to the game (from three years old), introducing children to performance (from nine years old) and introducing and keeping adults on the courts.

To find out more please contact Sergio at 0456111094, email: info@highlandstenniscommunity.com or visit us at www.highlandstenniscommunity.com.