Warrnambool Lawn Tennis Club Family Fast4 event a winner

His son Charlie had decided he wanted to get involved and on Friday night told his dad they were playing.

It was a special moment because Charlie had never played competition tennis before.

The nine-year-old had only taken lessons at Beachside Tennis Academy.

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So Sunday's event, designed for parents and children to have a fun hit together, was the perfect platform to make his debut.

Fast4 is a short-form of tennis.

"I wanted to play a tennis match and it suits my age," Charlie said.

"And Dad and I can play instead of me on my own."

Speaking after his first match Charlie said he enjoyed the experience.

"It was fun, difficult with the wind, but very fun," he said.

He's committed to improving his skills and has participated in lessons whenever coronavirus pandemic restrictions have allowed this year.

"I train once a week but I hit on my wall at home a lot," he said.

The year three St Joseph's Primary School student would recommend tennis to other youngsters.

"It's fun, it's a good sport, there's not too much running and you get to talk to a lot of people," he said.

Frank, who also volunteers as the club's treasurer, said the Family Fast4 format was a hit.

"It's a great idea, it really is, to get people into it," he said.

"It's an easy way to get into it, they're fast games, it's not boring."

The treasurer added it was great to see plenty of people using the courts again this past fortnight.

"It's starting to kick off, it's been a very tough year for us obviously because we've got to maintain the courts and we haven't had the revenue coming in this year," he said.

Beachside Tennis Academy owners Andrew Crawford and Helen Papaevagelou ran the event.

Crawford was thrilled to have 22 players show up to make 11 teams.

It's an event they would like to hold annually at this time of year.

He explained WLTC would also host Fast4 events in January during the club's tennis carnival.

The experienced coach said they might run another one in February.

There is also a Junior Tournament Series event coming up on Sunday at WLTC.

Crawford said Beachside Tennis Academy had 150 students enrolled for its term four lessons.

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