Royal Park Tennis Club smashing barriers for blind tennis

Following a successful Term 1 program, Royal Park Tennis Club is set to kick off its coaching and social tennis sessions for blind and low-vision players from April 15 to May 6, providing a unique opportunity for blind and low vision players in the inner city to participate in the sport.

In collaboration with Blind Sports & Recreation Victoria, the program not only offers a space to play blind tennis, but also fosters an environment for learning and growth in the sport.

“We saw a gap in the market where we didn't have any blind or social tennis happening in the northern corridor of Melbourne, so we saw that opportunity to diversify and grow the market,” Royal Park Tennis Club’s marketing and program coordinator Aleks Ceran said.

We knew from having a member here at the club that he was keen to play some social tennis at his own club, so we thought it was a really good opportunity to start a program.

David Gordon is a participant in the program and ranked 6th in Australia in his eyesight category.

Thanks to the RPTC David has been able to receive coaching to get to the level he is now and he emphasised that the club had “gone out of their way to support me”.

“My development’s come a long way. When I first started playing tennis, I had to serve underarm, and I could barely get a ball back, but now I am more confident,” he told Inner City News.

“I love it, the club has been so supportive of me. The secretary, the treasurer, the coach, the groundskeeper – everybody that sees me and the other players down there come up to us afterwards and ask us about the sport. We don’t think we’re inspirations, but they say it’s inspiring to see us play.”

For blind and low vision players, there are few opportunities to play socially, which Aleks Ceran said had been the program's most significant impact.

“The main benefit was that they were able to find a community where they could feel comfortable to play tennis as well as hang out in the clubhouse afterwards, so they're able to sort of feel a really great sense of community as well as improving their tennis,” Aleks said.

The upcoming weekly program will run both coaching and social tennis for $10 per session. The team at RPTC and participants involved in the program encourage anyone interested in playing or learning about blind tennis to come along to a session and experience the sport firsthand.

Photography by John Fornander.