The North Woden Tennis Club has received $825,000 from the ACT Government to reconstruct four tennis hardcourts. Work will begin late next year.

Terry Lennard, the club’s president, said the hardcourts were a welcome addition to the growing centre.

“We have started the planning and design process, and look forward to having the upgraded courts available to our members and the community as soon as possible.”

Robyn Hendry, Tennis ACT, said the news was five years in the making.

The disability-friendly club, founded in 1968, is home to the all-abilities wheelchair hub, and was awarded Tennis ACT’s Club of the Year and Most Inclusive Club in 2018.

“It really is a space that’s safe and welcoming for people regardless of their abilities,” said Yvette Berry, ACT Minister for Sport and Recreation.

She expected disabled participation in the sport to increase after Australian wheelchair athlete Dylan Alcott became the third professional tennis player and only male player to win the calendar-year Golden Slam this year – with singles titles in Australian Open, French Open, Wimbledon, US Open and the singles gold medal at the 2020 Summer Paralympics. He was, with Dutch player Diede de Groot, the first professional tennis player to do so since Steffi Graf in 1988.

“When you see athletes like Dylan going above and beyond, and their remarkable commitment to tennis, that really does give people something to aspire to,” Ms Berry said.

Aspen Medical is sponsoring the wheelchair tennis hub for two years.

Some 32,000 Canberrans play tennis.

“Canberra has the highest sports and recreation participation in the country, and so our investment in it needs to match that,” Ms Berry said.

The ACT Government is building a $9 million facility in Gungahlin, launched by tennis professional Nick Kyrgios last year. The facility in Amaroo will include a dozen full-sized courts, hot shots courts, a hitting wall, LED lighting, parking, and a pavilion.

The Ainslie, Eastlake and Kambah Tennis Clubs will also get new LED lighting to extend playing and lesson times.

Planning and design for the courts in Gungahlin will commence shortly – once a consultant has been appointed.

In Woden, the ACT Government is also improving enclosed ovals in Phillip for cricket and ball sports.