At the secound round tie Fed Cup Asia/Oceania Group I , Japan won against New Zealand with 3-0 score.

 

Marina Erakovic (above) was first on court. She lost to Ayumi Morita 2-6 7-6 6-1, who was also her nemesis at the Olympic Games in China in 2008.

The experienced Kimiko Date-Krumm played brillianty in her first round. She defeated Sacha Jones 6-2 6-4.

In the doubles, the team of Rika Fujiwara/Yurika Sema defeated Erakovic and Jones 6-3 6-4.

The New Zealand Team of Jones, Erakovic and Ellen Barry will play today against Indonesia at the National Tennis Centre in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

Click here for the latest on the tournament on the ITF website

It's only the wombats who are sleeping in Burnie, Tasmania  this week (our Issue Image, top right).

In the doubles semi-finals at the ATP Challenger Tournament in Australia's fifth-biggest seaport, Rubin Statham (above) and his Australian partner Nima Roshan will play against the Australian combination James Lemke and Dane Propoggia later today.

Statham is a recipient of the PUMP Tennis Scholarship this year.

Dan King-Turner and his Australian partner Rameez Junaid defeated the top-seeded Australian combination Sadik Kadir and Joseph Sirianni 5-7 7-6 13-11.
Their quarter-finals opponents are Brydan Klein and John Millman, both from Australia.

Click here for the official tournament website and the latest news.

Tennis New Zealand is  delighted to announce Craig Bell as Coach Education Coordinator for tennis coaching throughout the country. Craig will commence in the part-time contract role this week.

An experienced and highly regarded coach himself, Craig has also been an executive member of the Tennis Coaches New Zealand (TCNZ) committee, a recruiter of guest presenters of the highest calibre, and a coach educator. Craig has been active in the design and roll-out of the coach registration and certification process, as well as in the development of the coach education arrangements with Tennis Australia.

In the new role, which is specific to the education of coaches, Craig will focus on the provision of courses at all levels, professional development of coaches at all levels, coach/club relations, and the Registration and Certification of tennis coaches all across New Zealand. It is expected that Craig will continue to work closely with TCNZ.

This announcement co-incides with Peter McCraw's final week in the role of National Director of Coaching. After a summer extension to the two year contract, so as to see through some final projects, the role of National Director of Coaching has come to its conclusion. We thank Peter for the excellent structure he has established for the recruitment, training, education and professional development of coaches whilst the role of National Director of Coaching did exist. We wish Peter well for his future endeavours within tennis coaching and beyond.

New Zealand tennis official Rosemary Hargreaves is the recipient of a Prime Minister's Scholarship.

Rosemary has qualified to attend the ITF Level 2 Referees school in New York from the 22 - 24 February. See the attached article for Rosemary's view on this great trip.

Click here to read the full story.

A mad world of snobs, desperates and psychopaths.

"The revolution required to resurrect tennis as a popular recreational sport, let alone a flag-waving, chest-thumping, nationalistic drug would be so great it's near impossible," writes Bill Woods in the Sydney Morning Herald.

He's talking about Australia - perhaps the are lessons for New Zealand here as well.

Click here to read the full article.

A family spectacular is arriving in Cambridge 6-7 March with The Cambridge Tennis Festival.

Incorporating and Open Mens Doubles, Ladies Doubles, Mixed Doubles and a special Turbo Tennis Family Tournament, the inaugural event promises to be a spectacular! Live music, kids' attractions, exhibits and stalls are also on offer with loads of spot prizes to be won. The Racquets Club are offering readers of Passing Shots the following competition for a FREE entry into the tournament (worth upto $60).

Question: What amount (in $) of Spot Prizes are up for grabs at the Tennis Festival? The first FIVE correct answers to email c.r.c@xtra.co.nz will win a free entry into the tournament! (Clue - click http://crc.org.nz/tennisfestival/ for some help!) Please include your name with the answer!