The Australian Open Tennis Tournament

as both an amateur and a professional tennis player. The dynamic left-hander won 198 career singles titles, 11 major singles titles and two calendar year Grand Slams, the frst of those in 1962 during the amateur era and the second in 1969 during the Open era. Only one other male player has won a single calendar year Grand Slam and that was the American Don Budge in 1938. Laver turned professional in 1963, winning 8 Pro Major titles in this period, however, he was ineligible to compete in any Grand Slam tournaments till 1968 when tennis went Open. The career statistics of Rod Laver stand up with any other player in the history of tennis and when talking about the greatest of all-time, his name must defnitely come into the conversation. Another great Australian player was Roy Emerson, who between 1963 and 1967 won fve consecutive Australian Tennis Championships, the most by any player in the amateur and Open eras. Overall, Emerson won

12 major singles titles as well as a career Grand Slam in both singles and doubles, the only player to achieve the feat. With Emerson at the helm Australia won the premier international team event in men’s tennis, the Davis Cup, eight times between 1959 and 1967. In 2012, Roy Emerson was ranked the 11th greatest male player in history by the Tennis Channel production “100 Greatest of All Time”. In 1976, Mark Edmondson was the last Australian male to win the Open championship, when he defeated defending champion John Newcombe in four sets. At the time Edmondson was ranked 212th in the world making him the lowest ranked winner of a Grand Slam tournament since rankings were introduced. In stark contrast to today’s highly paid tennis professionals, Edmondson worked a variety of jobs in the Gosford area, including as a nurseryman and a cleaner to fnance his overseas tennis exploits. As a footnote, no pun intended, the iconic Australian sports shoe compiled 9/275 after dismissing Tucabia for 177. It was a workmanlike display from the Lawrence line up, capitalising on a patient innings of 80 from opener Mark Ensbey and solid back up from others in the top order. the Dunlop Volley, turns eighty six this year. Back in the sixties the Dunlop Volley was standard sports footwear for all us baby boomer kids and because of their superior gripping power, essential safety equipment for many tradies working on a roof. First developed in 1939 by Australian Davis Cup tennis player Adrian Quist, the Dunlop Volley has been worn by many greats of the game such as Rod Laver, Ken Rosewall, Margaret Court and Evonne Goolagong-Cawley.

For Tucabia veteran Matt Pigg had a big game with 62 and 22 overs of tight off spin in the Lawrence innings for a couple of wickets. But it only papered over the lack of penetration in the Tucabia attack when its big guns, like fast bowler Brad Chard aren’t availables.

Atkinson

18.Susan Scott

19. Jan Fenech, KathyPickles

20.Ann Hewitt

21.Cindy Smith, Kath Hubbard

22.Lisa Wong

Mahjong is played every Friday at 12:30 PM at the Ballina Bridge Club. Interested players are welcome to join. For more information, contact Shirley at 0423 384 647.

CASINO WOMEN’S BOWLS RESULTS

The frst game day of 2025 saw a wonderful return to the green, as members enjoyed reconnecting after the Christmas and New Year break. It’s great to be back playing the sport we all love!

Results for Wednesday, 15th January 2025:

Winning Team: Tanya Maxwell, Jan Cooke, Julie Creighton & Mary Mead

Defeated:

Tanya Maxwell, Maria Hellyar, Jan Dwyer & Chris Haynes

Congratulations to the winning team for achieving the highest score of the day!

Close Contest on the Other Rink:

Judy Carthew, Denise Skinner & Ivy Watson

Defeated: Maryanne Chandler, Annette James & Kaye Jonsson

Upcoming Club Competition: Entries are now open for the frst club competition of the year—Fours. New members are always welcome to join and experience the joy of bowls.

CHERRY STREET CROQUET CLUB

SPORTS RESULTS

Association Croquet

S. Hume & P. Hume 26 defeated B. Hardy 12

P. Waters 13 defeated G. Drew 9

Ricochet Croquet

G. Kerr & J. Doust 13 defeated P. Scott & B. Waters 9

P. Bolte & N. Poynting 16 defeated Brenton Bill & N. Watts 7

Bev Bill & D. Scott 16 defeated P. Waters & M.

Russell 6

A. Mangan & D. Scott 16 defeated J. Bate & N. Poynting 11

P. Scott & C. Edlund 9 defeated M. Field & M.

Russell 8

R. Allen & N. Barnes 12 defeated J. Doust & P. Bolte 11

M. Russell 13 defeated N. Watts & J. Hannigan

11

R. Poynting 11 drew with J. Hannigan 11 Division 3 Golf

Croquet Pennants 2025

The draw for the 1st Round is as follows:

3rd March: Cherry

Street vs. Ballina

4th March: Casino vs. Byron Bay

5th March: Alstonville vs. Lismore

Referees: Ray Chapman, Fay Ross, and David Scott

Best of luck to all players as the new season begins!