EVES Open: ‘A celebration of tennis’ in Papamoa

The sun is shining and international tennis is back in Pāpāmoa.

All week in the lead up to Christmas, from 17-23 December, professional players from Australia, the United States, Europe and Asia will take on some of New Zealand’s best at Pāpāmoa Tennis Club.

"The EVES Open is a celebration of tennis, community spirit and the joy of summer,” Pāpāmoa Tennis Club President Gerald Greig says.

“We invite everyone to join us. This is a perfect way to usher in the holiday season.”

The EVES Open – ITF World Tennis Tour: Tauranga is a professional event for men (M15) and women (W25) with official ATP and WTA world ranking points and a total prize pool of US$40,000.

Play begins at 11am each day, with free spectator entry.

New Zealand Olympic bronze medalist Marcus Daniell is back from injury and playing in Pāpāmoa this week.

He and fellow Kiwi Finn Reynolds won the men’s doubles title at the ITF World Tennis Tour: Wellington event last week.

The men’s and women’s singles champions in Wellington, Matthew Dellavedova from Australia and Mao Mushika from Japan, are also playing in Pāpāmoa this week.

Dellavedova is the top men’s seed at the EVES Open and the top women’s seed is Himeno Sakatsume from Japan, who is world number 183.

If last year’s inaugural EVES Open is anything to go by, you could see some of these players competing at a Grand Slam before too long.

The women’s singles champion last year, Katherine Sebov from Canada, went on to play at the Australian Open in January.

And New Zealand doubles specialist Erin Routliffe, who won the women’s doubles title at last year’s EVES Open, went on to have the best season of her career, winning three WTA titles including a Grand Slam at the US Open in New York.

Some of the New Zealand women in action in Pāpāmoa this week include Monique Barry, Renee Zhang, Elyse Tse, Valentina Ivanov, Maria Galatescu, Jade Otway, and Paige Hourigan, who won the women’s doubles title with Routliffe last year.

Some of the New Zealand men playing in Pāpāmoa this week include Finn Reynolds, Isaac Becroft, Corban Crowther, Reece Falck, George Stoupe, Jack Loutit, James Watt, Kai Milburn, Anton Shepp, and Diego Quispe-Kim.

The EVES Open qualifying round started on Sunday and was played late into the night under lights. 

The remaining qualifying matches and first main draw matches began on Monday after mana whenua Ngā Pōtiki opened the event with a pōhiri and welcomed the players onto centre court.

“We are thrilled to begin EVES Open week and what a fantastic start – a beautiful morning filled with sunshine, a moving pōhiri, and the enthusiastic participation of more than 60 kids in our tennis holiday programme,” Vicki Semple, sponsorship and events manager at title sponsor EVES Real Estate, says.

“We are so grateful for the support and partnership of Pāpāmoa Tennis Club, Tennis New Zealand, all the match officials, and the local businesses who have got in behind this event. We are looking forward to watching our talented Kiwi players on court all week."

The EVES Open is also supported by TECT and Tauranga City Council.

“We’re thrilled to have the EVES Open – ITF World Tennis Tour right here in Tauranga,” Barbara Dempsey, Tauranga City Council’s General Manager of Community Services, says.

“It’s more than just hosting an event for us – it’s about creating an environment where athletes can really shine, spectators can soak up the excitement, and our whole community can come together to revel in the incredible sporting action. Being a free event, this is a huge opportunity for our community to watch some world-class tennis right in our own backyard.”

Pāpāmoa Tennis Club, which is located at the Venture Developments WBOP Tennis Centre in Gordon Spratt Reserve, will also play host to the NZ Wheelchair Tennis National Championships this week. It will be run alongside the EVES Open on 21 and 22 December, with afternoon matches on centre court.

Pāpāmoa Tennis Club’s Gerald Greig said the tennis fraternity in Tauranga and the wider Western Bay of Plenty is “full of excitement” and all the clubs have joined forces to promote the EVES Open. Locals in Pāpāmoa have been “beavering away” preparing the courts and facilities.

“The collective effort underscores the significance of this event within the local tennis community,” Greig says.

"Personally I can't wait to see the athleticism, be amazed at some of the spectacular shots, and hear that distinctive sound of a tennis ball being struck cleanly and powerfully. That sound alone is worth a visit to the EVES Open.”