Wangaratta's Aus Day tennis tournament the best in the state

We’ve known it for years, and now it’s official – the Wangaratta Lawn Tennis, Croquet and Pickleball Club’s annual Australia Day tournament is the best in the state. The beloved event received the award for Most Outstanding Tournament at the 2026 Victorian Community Tennis Awards last Thursday 28 May. Held at Kooyong Lawn Tennis Club, the evening brought together passionate members of the Victorian tennis community to celebrate another remarkable year of achievements both on and off the court. Up against some staunch competition in the Victoria Beach Tennis Open and the O3K J250 ALCTA Mornington Peninsula, the local tournament came out on top, with the centenary celebrations of the tournament proving too good to ignore. WLTCP president Sam Allen said it was a massive honour to receive the award, and recognition of all the work which has gone into the tournament over a century. “We’re all pretty proud of it, it’s great recognition, not for me necessarily, but for the club and people who have put hard work in over many years. “While the award is for 2026, that’s not the way we see it, it’s more about what we’ve built over 100 years of the tournament. “It’s a bit of a process to nominate for it, but given this year and the effort we put in, Tennis Vic came to us and said they thought we should nominate. “We looked into it and went through the process and were listed as finalists, so we got invited to the awards night and probably still didn’t think we were going to win, but we were lucky enough to have our names read out on the night. “There are a lot of good tournaments all over Victoria, but out of the three there on the night, we were read out, it was definitely a surprise to us.” The award was shared in spirit with the past organisers and those who had committed to coming to the tournament for decades. “On the night I think I made mention of the people who keep coming back year after year, not only our volunteers who have put in work over 100 years,” Allen said. “There’s a group of people who have come back for 40+ years to our Australia Day tournament, so when you start thinking about that, it’s pretty incredible service from your players. “Then you factor in people like Pat Flynn and Frank Harris, tournament directors and all the volunteers who have put in so much time and effort each summer towards three days a year. “There are too many people to thank, but the volunteers and the people who keep coming back year after year, they’re the big ones, it’s really about them.” The club threw a little gathering on the Sunday at the clubhouse to thank all volunteers and club members for their efforts in putting on the event, and to show off their fancy new trophy. It’s the second consecutive year the Most Outstanding Tournament award has been won by a club in the North East, with Myrtleford’s Easter Tournament recognised last season. The Victorian Community Tennis Awards are aligned with the Australian Tennis Awards - where applicable, winners of Victorian awards are now eligible for nomination in the 2026 Newcombe Medal (Australian Tennis Awards). Allen said plans were being drawn up to bring the tournament back bigger and better in 2027, extending it to a four-day spectacle, given the public holiday for Australia Day 2027 falls on a Tuesday. “We’re very lucky to have Dal Zotto Wines come on board for next year’s event, I think they were pretty happy with how things went, and hopefully alongside them we can do things bigger and better in 2027,” he said. “It’s a long way out, there’s still six months in between now and then. “There’s going to be a lot of thought put into scheduling and how we make that look and keep everyone happy and try and make sure everyone plays as much tennis as possible. “You want to keep challenging yourself as a club and you want to make things bigger and better, and that’s just the territory that comes with it.”

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