Katherine is being represented by top pro Shelby Rogers at this year’s Australian Open.
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Thanks to a successful Free Tennis Day held at the Katherine Tennis Club last November, the club went into a lottery draw where one of the top pros playing the Australian Open is representing the club.
As a result, one of the most dangerous unseeded players in the women’s draw, American Shelby Rogers, is playing for the town.
She has proved her worth already, knocking out Simona Halep, who is ranked No. 4 in the world, 6-3, 6-1 last night.
Ranked 52 in the world, Rogers will play either Australian wildcard Ashleigh Barty or German Annika Beck on Wednesday for a place in the last 32.
If she goes all the way and takes out the Open, Katherine Tennis Club receives $5000.
Shelby is quickly rising through the world ranks, most notably making the quarter-finals of the 2016 French Open.
At the French Open she defeated former Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova and US Open finalist Karolina Pliskova on the way.
Shelby is currently ranked 52 in the world and has started off 2017 well.
She has beat Eugenie Bouchard at the Brisbane International and recently made the quarter-finals of the Hobart International.
In the Australian Open, which started on Monday, Shelby drew a very tough first round match against the fourth seed, Simona Halep.
She “dismantled” her more fancied opponent, 6-3, 6-1, to progress in the tournament.
If Shelby goes all the way and takes out the Open, Katherine Tennis Club receives a handy $5000.
Meanwhile, in local tennis news, the Katherine Tennis Club has recommenced its regular Tuesday Night social tennis.
So far the resumption of competition on Tuesday nights has so far managed to avoid the rain.
Last week, a handful of players kicked off social tennis for 2017 with Greg and Steve collecting the most games for the night.
Social tennis is on under lights in Katherine every Tuesday (weather permitting).
The competition starts at 7pm with a warm-up starting at 6.30pm.
Players of all levels are welcome and the cost is $10.
People are urged to check the Katherine Tennis Club Facebook page for further details.
More details on Shelby show she followed her sister, Sabra, into tennis at the age of six.
She was quickly identified by her coaches for her natural athletic ability and started competing on the national stage by the age of 11.
Home-schooled during high school, Shelby was able to focus on her tennis and quickly started receiving scholarship offers from the top schools in the US.
Her tennis idol is Steffi Graf.
