Bayside Thunder has assembled a star-studded line-up for its inauguration in the Asia-Pacific Tennis League south-east women’s conference.
The Thunder will bring top-line tennis to the suburbs, with its home round of matches to be played under lights on December 5 on the courts of the Bayside P-12 College’s Williamstown campus.
The five-round tournament will be a travelling road show with rounds to be played at Bayside, Frankston, Yarrawonga, Mornington and Kooyong, while the conference finals will be held at the National Tennis Centre in Melbourne in December.
The tournament begins this Friday night with the Thunder facing the Kooyong Classics at the Frankston Tennis Centre from 7pm.
The Kate Sheahan-coached Thunder will be headlined by former Australian women’s No. 1 Nicole Pratt.
Pratt, 41, a US Open semi-finalist, three-time quarter-finalist at the Australian Open and once a quarter-finalist at the French Open, retired as a professional in 2008.
The tournament’s shorter four-game sets and no-advantage matches might be seen as a better alternative to the longer format for a veteran.
The Thunder is blessed with top young talent that should see it in the mix for the title.
Three Australian top-10 players are on the team, including Arina Rodionova, Storm Sanders and Tammi Patterson.
Daria Gavrilova, a one-time junior prodigy with Russia, has a career-high WTA singles ranking of 128. The homegrown Katerina Valos, a 17-year-old star on the rise, is the youngest player on the team.
All teams are aiming for the ATL playoffs, which will take place at Melbourne Park during the 2015 Australian Open.
Bayside Thunder schedule
Round 1, Friday, 7pm: Kooyong Classics (at Frankston)
Round 2, Sunday, 1pm: Mornington Missiles (Yarrawonga)
Round 3, December 5, 6.30pm: MCC Stars (Bayside)
Round 4, December 7, 1pm: Frankston Firebirds (Mornington)
Round 5, December 12, 6.30pm: Waverley Warriors (Kooyong)
