MT1000 Melbourne is one of the first tournaments on the list for many players competing at the top end of the ITF World Tennis Masters Tour. Co-hosted at the spectacular Kooyong Lawn Tennis Club and Royal South Yarra Club in Melbourne on 9-13 March 2023, the event is a player favourite and is back with a bang in 2023.

We caught up with MT1000 Melbourne Tournament Director Rob Hughes and the team - Mike Evans, Bert Faux, Rob Hughes, Ron Milledge and Bill Sale - to find out more about the showpiece event.

How many years have you been running the Melbourne ITF Masters event?

I have been involved in the running of ITF Tournaments for over 10 years and with the Oceania tournament since it was a Regional Closed in 2015. The last time I was officially Tournament Director was in 2019.

What is a typical day like for you during the event?

Usually we arrive before 8am for a 9am start of play. We have a quick discussion regarding what is needed to complete the daily schedule, taking into account any “heat outs” or rain delays. Print out any schedules and draws and display on notice boards. Check in players and call scheduled matches. At the end of the day (usually after 7.30pm), after results have been posted and tomorrow's times are emailed to players, sit down with the team and have a cold beer or glass of Red!

What do you think about this year’s line-up?

This year we again have our most experienced ITF Masters Tournament Referee, Ande Hutchinson, appointed and, together with Steve Longworth, they will attend to the scheduling of matches and post results to the ITF sites. We expect that numbers of players entering may return to pre-Covid times, and with our share of top 10 players we expect that the draws will be very strong.

When do you start preparing for the tournament?

Once the contract is agreed and signed with the Oceania Tennis Federation, work commences on securing any additional venues and preparation of the ITF Application.

What have you changed from last year to this year?

The major change between this year and last is the provision of Court Umpires by Tennis Australia to umpire Finals. This change has caused a re-think on the scheduling of Finals.

What makes Melbourne a great place to come and play tennis?

The Tennis facilities at Kooyong Lawn Tennis Club and Royal South Yarra Lawn Tennis Club are world class. The Kooyong Lawn Tennis Club is internationally renowned as "The Spiritual Home of Australian Tennis". The superb grounds are located in Melbourne's leafy inner city precinct, and comprise 26 grass courts, 22 all-weather en tout cas courts and 3 Plexicushion courts.

The average temperature in Melbourne during March (start of Autumn) is 24C (can reach high 30s) with 5 days of rain.

How did you become interested in tennis? Do you play yourself?

I started playing Tennis when I was 10 years old, stopped when I was 20 and started again when I was 30. I still play competitively twice a week, but only Doubles. My current MT ranking is 20 (career high 6).

For all the latest draws and results, keep up to date with the MT1000 Melbourne here