Kids Tennis Day attracts more than 17,500 to Melbourne Park

A record 17,537 people attended Kids Tennis Day at Melbourne Park on Saturday.

The annual event aims to drive tennis participation and encourage children and their families to pick up a racquet and play.

More than 213,000 children played ANZ Tennis Hot Shots in 2015/2016.

Commenting on the successful inititiative, Tennis Australia Director of Participation, Paul Cammack stated “Kids Tennis Day is all about attracting kids to the sport, and in particular showcasing ANZ Tennis Hot Shots, our official development program.

“Today has been fantastic. The AO Ballpark, a brand new kid zone open throughout the tournament, has attracted a whole host of new people to the site.

“We have broken the previous record attendance by 2000 people, with more than 17,500 at Melbourne Park.”

Novak Djokovic, Roger Federer, Milos Raonic and Daria Gavrilova starred at the Rod Laver Spectacular alongside DreamWorks Animation’s Poppy and Branch from the movie Trolls, The Penguins of Madagascar including Skipper, Kowalski, Rico and Private and PO from Kung Fu Panda 3.

X Factor finalist Taylor Henderson also featured while the spectacular was hosted by duo Luke and Wyatt.

In 2016, 15,543 attended Kids Tennis Day. 

Main image: Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic joined Kids Day in Melbourne (photo: Australian Open/Facebook)

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