{"id":934049,"date":"2026-10-19T18:44:24","date_gmt":"2026-10-19T18:44:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/934049\/"},"modified":"2026-10-19T18:44:24","modified_gmt":"2026-10-19T18:44:24","slug":"love-tennis-or-never-touched-a-racquet-get-in-on-the-action-at-this-free-tennis-festival","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/934049\/","title":{"rendered":"Love tennis or never touched a racquet? Get in on the action at this free tennis festival"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Come as you are and play how you want at the Festival of Tennis. Photo: Tennis ACT.<\/p>\n

As warmer weather arrives in the capital, the local courts are calling, and Tennis ACT is serving up proof you don\u2019t need a world-class arm to join the action \u2014 you just need to find the right format for you.<\/p>\n

\u201cYour summer, your tennis, your way\u201d is the motto for the upcoming Festival of Tennis, which challenges the notion that tennis is all high-stakes singles and full-sized courts.<\/p>\n

The Festival will showcase alternatives, from cardio tennis workouts to social pickleball and the fast-paced POP tennis One Point Slam.<\/p>\n

\u201cTennis as an adult can seem difficult if you haven\u2019t played before, and we\u2019re really trying to show the people of Canberra that there are so many variants, and that the pathway to play is going to be different for everyone,\u201d Tennis ACT CEO Mark La Brooy says.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur sport provides an opportunity for everyone to get out, get active in any way, shape or form and get all the benefits of tennis.\u201d<\/p>\n

Designed to highlight these options, the free two-hour Festival of Tennis features interactive demonstrations, giveaways, speed challenges and hands-on activities for all ages and fitness levels.<\/p>\n

Sweat, socialise and serve your a-game<\/p>\n

For adults, Cardio Tennis offers a high-energy way to pair fitness with racquet sports in a pressure-free, social environment. Run in a group class format with non-stop movement, it takes the direct spotlight off individual play.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou\u2019ve got 10 to 15 people on court, all having a heap of fun, playing tennis, but in a very relaxed format, and mixing it with some movement and fitness,\u201d Mark explains.<\/p>\n

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Tennis-adjacent games like pickleball offer a low barrier to entry, facilitating fast, easy rallies and quality hang time with mates. Photo: Tennis Australia\/Luke Hemer.<\/p>\n

Social players looking for a more casual experience can also try POP tennis or pickleball. Played on smaller courts using a wiffleball (for pickleball) or a low-compression orange ball (for POP tennis), both games have a low barrier to entry and facilitate fast, easy rallies.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou\u2019re playing nice and close, with easier equipment, so you can get started quickly and easily,\u201d Mark says.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you\u2019re looking to just hang out with mates and have a heap of fun, these are two great options to check out.\u201d<\/p>\n

Attendees can also test their reflexes in the POP tennis One Point Slam \u2014 a fast-paced \u201cone point, and you\u2019re out\u201d knockout challenge \u2014 or test their power at the Speed Serve station to see how their serve measures up against the pros.<\/p>\n

To keep the momentum going past the event, Tennis ACT has partnered with Urban Rec to launch a dedicated POP tennis league, giving social players a regular competition format throughout the season.<\/p>\n

Easy on the joints, big on the vibes<\/p>\n

Looking for something low-impact but high-fun? Pickleball and POP tennis are great for newcomers or players navigating minor joint injuries, offering the same hand-eye coordination and fun with significantly less impact and court coverage required.<\/p>\n

\u201cThese formats are great to get people moving on a smaller court and with modified equipment. Given the closeness of players on the court, they are also great formats to boost social connectedness,\u201d Mark says.<\/p>\n

\"woman<\/p>\n

Tennis offers multiple pathways to play for over-45s who may not have played before, are returning after a long sabbatical, or are recovering from injury. Photo: Tennis ACT.<\/p>\n

For former players returning to the sport after an extended break, Cardio Tennis provides an accessible ramp back in.<\/p>\n

\u201cCardio exercise is super important for all age groups, and Cardio Tennis is such a great way to get back into playing tennis, where the focus isn\u2019t on match play necessarily or points; it\u2019s just a great way to hit your way to fit and play to music,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

Free racquets, big smiles \u2014 the ultimate family outing<\/p>\n

Younger players and families are central to the Festival line-up. To help jumpstart young interest in the sport, the first 200 children through the gates will receive a free tennis racquet.<\/p>\n

POP tennis and pickleball will be popular among families and are great ways to spark a love for racquet sports.<\/p>\n

Kids can also test their skills in Hot Shots Tennis, a developmental program designed for all stages and ages, allowing children to build technique at their own pace.<\/p>\n

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Photo: Tennis ACT.<\/p>\n

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Photo: Tennis ACT.<\/p>\n

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Photo: Tennis ACT.<\/p>\n

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Photo: Tennis ACT.<\/p>\n

The action takes place on a scaled court, and specialised equipment lets children progress from larger, low-compression red balls to more challenging orange balls before finishing on a standard tennis ball.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you\u2019re really young, the low-compression balls are easy to hit, enabling them to keep the ball in more often and have rallies, even as a young kid,\u201d Mark says.<\/p>\n

\u201cThose little successes set them up nicely for a love of racquet sports, allowing them to slowly develop their skills and cultivate a genuine enjoyment.\u201d<\/p>\n

Between hits, kids can drift over to other activations including face painting, glitter tattoos and a photo booth.<\/p>\n

Your festival game plan<\/p>\n

Entry to the event is completely free. Registration gives you a \u201cPassport to Play\u201d, letting you wander around the demos and games, scan QR codes to join in the action, and enter the major prize draw valued at over $2500.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Festival of Tennis is about opening people\u2019s eyes to the many different and wonderful forms tennis takes,\u201d Mark says.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re excited to get kids and adults on court, trying out different forms of the sport and seeing that there are so many pathways to getting involved in their local tennis community.\u201d<\/p>\n

All sports take place against a festival backdrop, with other festival activities, local food vendors and prize giveaways.<\/p>\n

The Festival of Tennis<\/a> takes place Sunday, 25 October, from 10 am to 12 pm at the Canberra Tennis Centre, Lyneham. Registration is free of charge via Eventbrite<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Come as you are and play how you want at the Festival of Tennis. Photo: Tennis ACT. As…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":934050,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[565],"tags":[64,63,85,747],"class_list":["post-934049","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\/934049","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=934049"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/934049\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/934050"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=934049"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=934049"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=934049"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}