Wood you look at this tennis
By Geraldine Fitzgerald
Wooden tennis rackets are enjoying a huge revival and are being dusted off and restrung by nostalgic tennis players everywhere.
More unforgiving than graphite rackets, wood makes the player find the sweet spot and play in a very connected way.
Bjorn Borg hung onto his wood racket until he retired, so fond was he of it.
The resurgence in wood tennis has spawned great international interest, and Douglas Lawn Tennis Club (LTC) will host the International Wood Tennis Organisation (IWTO) inaugural event from 3-5 September.
An Taoiseach Michéal Martin recently launched the details at the club’s open week finals.
An Taoiseach also formally re-opened the six club flood-lit all weather courts after their recent resurfacing and the addition of a new state of the art lighting system.
President of DLTC Mike Ryan said: “As we are about to celebrate 40 years on this site as a club, Douglas LTC is proud to be part of this new evolution of tennis, an evolution that involves returning to the roots of the sport.
“We are thrilled that IWTO chose our club to host its first international event. We want to welcome as many players as possible to Cork in early September to enjoy not only the tennis - but all that the city has to offer.
“We are delighted to welcome An Taoiseach to our club and thrilled he had time to enjoy a demonstration match by our leading club players.”
He added: “We work very closely with our local community, and we are delighted to receive sponsorship and support for this weekend event from Lehane Motors, O’Leary Insurances and Clonakilty Distillery who supply all the hand sanitiser for the club.
“We are also very excited to be helping a new local business called Box Pirates by selecting them as our on-site caterer,” he conlcuded.
Steve O’Sullivan, Founder and CEO of the International Wood Tennis Organisation, said: “The International Wood Tennis Organisation is dedicated to the development of wood tennis as a new standalone category of Tennis through the IWTO Tour. I am incredibly proud and excited that the Irish Open, our inaugural world-ranking event, is being held at Douglas Lawn Tennis Club.
“The support and passion that Mike Ryan and Club Captain Triona Buckley have for Wood Tennis makes Douglas LTC the perfect place to begin the IWTO adventure.”