{"id":406914,"date":"2026-01-11T20:43:16","date_gmt":"2026-01-11T20:43:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/406914\/"},"modified":"2026-01-11T20:43:16","modified_gmt":"2026-01-11T20:43:16","slug":"hobart-international-tennis-tournament-returns-with-star-power","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/406914\/","title":{"rendered":"Hobart International tennis tournament returns with star power"},"content":{"rendered":"

Tasmania\u2019s premier tennis tournament is kicking off at Hobart\u2019s Domain Tennis Centre, with organisers expecting more than 17,000 spectators to attend the week-long event.<\/p>\n

The Hobart International, running until 17 January, is Australia\u2019s only all-women\u2019s tennis tournament leading into the Australian Open and features several high-profile international players.<\/p>\n

Tourism Minister Jane Howlett said the tournament showcases elite women\u2019s tennis talent and demonstrates Tasmanians\u2019 enthusiasm for major sporting events.<\/p>\n

\u201cThese events provide Tasmanians with the opportunity to access live, elite sporting experiences \u2013 events that inspire young athletes and promote health and wellbeing across the community,\u201d Howlett said.<\/p>\n

\"\"The Tasmanian government allocated $1.5 million to support the tournament until 2027. Image \/ File<\/p>\n

Tennis Tasmania General Manager Darren Sturgess said ticket sales have surged, particularly after the announcement of Venus Williams and Emma Raducanu in the player lineup.<\/p>\n

\u201cHaving Emma Raducanu, she\u2019s really popular. She\u2019s got about three million social media followers,\u201d Sturgess said.<\/p>\n

\"\"Jane Howlett with Venus Williams enjoying a box of Tasmanian cherries<\/p>\n

\u201cOnce Venus was announced for a wildcard as well, that\u2019s just helped that momentum that we got from the full field announcement.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Tasmanian government has committed $1.5 million in funding over five years to support the tournament through to 2027.<\/p>\n

Past competitors at the Hobart International have included tennis legends Serena Williams, Naomi Osaka and Australia\u2019s own Ash Barty and Sam Stosur.<\/p>\n

Sturgess said the venue\u2019s intimate setting offers fans a unique experience compared to larger tournaments.<\/p>\n

\"\"The Hobart International runs until 17 January featuring all-women\u2019s tennis. Image \/ File<\/p>\n

\u201cThe venue here is so intimate and personal, you get right up close to the action, so it\u2019s a great place to be able to enjoy the tennis here in Hobart,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Despite Belgian player Elise Mertens withdrawing to focus on her Australian Open preparations, Sturgess remains optimistic about the tournament\u2019s appeal.<\/p>\n

\u201cTasmania\u2019s hospitality is absolutely second to none. We have such relaxed players that they love it here,\u201d Sturgess said.<\/p>\n

Fans are encouraged to purchase tickets early through the official website as seats for the tournament are selling quickly.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Tasmania\u2019s premier tennis tournament is kicking off at Hobart\u2019s Domain Tennis Centre, with organisers expecting more than 17,000…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":406915,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[565],"tags":[64,63,85,747],"class_list":["post-406914","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-tennis","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-sports","tag-tennis"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/406914","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=406914"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/406914\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/406915"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=406914"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=406914"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=406914"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}