Ballarat Tennis Club to showcase tennis through the ages for Ballarat Heritage Festival
Costumed dramatic exhibition to celebrate the history of the sport from the monk's courtyards and royal palaces through to the modern day
The Ballarat Tennis Club will be opening its doors to the public this weekend, Saturday, 17 May, for a celebration of the history and tradition of the sport as part of the annual Ballarat Heritage Festival. The Club will meld the past and present in a series of costumed exhibitions, with the club members playing some of the most famed practitioners of real tennis across the centuries.
The city and region of Ballarat is in the traditional lands of the Wadawurrung people, but the discovery of gold brought waves of European and Chinese migration to the region, causing a boom in population and resulting in a melting pot of cultures. The region has since become a tourism hub, having preserved a large portion of its colonial-era architecture. The Festival will celebrate the crafts and culture of all those who have made the region home over the years.
Real tennis was brought to Ballarat by the European settlers during the gold rush era as early as the 1860s, with courts dotting the bustling Main Road precinct, serving as recreation hubs for migrants seeking fortune and familiar pastimes. Though those original courts are long gone, the Ballarat Tennis Club, established in 1984, now occupies a nearby spot close to Main Road — just a stone’s throw from where the city’s first tennis balls were served.
In a nod to this rich and eclectic past, the club is hosting a “history mash-up” day filled with theatrical panache on Saturday, 17 May. The event will feature two show-stopping exhibition matches. A morning singles clash between Renaissance artist Caravaggio and 15th-century French Belgian noblewoman Margot of Hainault. Then an afternoon doubles match will see Henry VIII and a 12th-century monk face off against Mary Queen of Scots and King Louis X of France, known as “the Quarrelsome.”
In between the exhibitions, the club will be running free clinics for members of the public eager to give the sport a go themselves. Spectators are being encouraged to join in the time-traveling fun by arriving in costume—representing any time, place, or dimension. Meanwhile inside the clubroom, traditional crafts will take centre stage, with live demonstrations of wooden racquet repairs and hand-stitched ball making—a tribute to the enduring traditions of real tennis.
“This is the first time the club has opened its doors in this way,” says event organiser and club member Lucinda Horrocks. “We hope to have a fun day and attract some curious visitors who might not have been aware that we play this intriguing sport here in Ballarat.”
The showcase is part of the larger Ballarat Heritage Festival, which blends the regional city’s fascination with the past and its love of community. The festival itself showcases the many layers of Ballarat’s story—from the enduring Wadawurrung presence to Victorian architecture and 20th-century nostalgia.
With costumes, characters, and plenty of lively competition, the Ballarat Tennis Club’s theatrical tennis day promises to be a cut above.
Further information and exhibition tickets are available through this link: https://www.visitballarat.com.au/whats-on/a-real-tennis-spectacle. Further information on the Ballarat Heritage Festival can be found here: https://ballaratheritagefestival.com.au
