No pressure for Tim Willans at Southland senior tennis champs

Home from two years of intense tennis in Australia, Tim Willans isn’t putting too much pressure on himself heading into the ILT Southland Senior Tennis Champs in Invercargill this weekend.

The Te Anau local, one of the most prodigious talents to come out of Southland tennis over the past few years, had been based in Queensland since 2020, studying at St Joseph’s College and training with the respected LifeTime Tennis Academy.

Over the summer he’s been crutching and working as a presser for a shearing gang, with little time to pick up a tennis racket.

“I haven’t been playing too much lately. It’ll be nice to get out and hit a few balls again. I don’t have very high expectations, I’ll just out and there and play and see what happens. You don’t get many days off from the shearing shed at this time of year, so that will be nice too.”

Tim’s time in Australia was very much focused between the white lines, with training every day and games against high-calibre opposition.

“It was pretty high-level tennis. Most of the guys I was playing with were going to college in the States this year.”

Tennis will take something of a backseat for Tim this year as he begins studying for a Bachelor of Commerce, with Science, at Otago University.

He’ll be majoring in economics, aquaculture and fisheries.

“I’d like to get into the paua or crayfish side of things.”

The ILT Southland Senior Champs will be contested over two days this weekend at the Waihopai Tennis Club and will feature open men’s and women’s singles, doubles and mixed events.

WHAT: The ILT Southland Senior Championships

WHEN: Saturday, Feb 12, Sunday, Feb 13

WHERE: Waihopai Tennis Club, Invercargill