How the roof at Memorial Drive can transform tennis in SA

It is increasingly becoming a requirement to host international tennis events around the world - but the roof over Memorial Drive will mean much more than that to Adelaide.

Artist impression of the $10 million upgrade to the Memorial drive.

• Memorial Drive WTA event to be one of strongest in world
• Memorial Drive to get $10 million upgrade, roof

The return of professional tennis to Memorial Drive next summer will have more far-reaching benefits than just hosting the ATP and WTA tournaments.

A $10 million contribution from the State Government means the historic venue will not only get an upgrade for its centre court but also a roof to safe-proof the event from rain.

While the stands on the western and eastern stands of the 5000-capacity centre court will be removed after the lead-in events to the Australian Open, the roof will stay.

It is not only an enormous boost to tennis in Adelaide, which has not had a covered court before, but is also expected to bring other events to the Riverbank area.

But the key is what it does to tennis, with Memorial Drive now being a proper training centre every week of the year.

It means players such as Thanasi Kokkinakis and the Melbourne-based Alex Bolt and Luke Saville has an option to have reliable training weeks in their home state during the year rather than spending training blocks in Melbourne where they know sessions won’t be washed out.

Tennis SA chief executive Steven Baldas expected interest in using the courts would explode when Adelaide heads into the wetter months of the year.

“Building the roof at Memorial Drive opens the door to an amazing array of new opportunities for Adelaide,” Baldas told the Sunday Mail. “It enables us to now be very much in play for events like Fed Cup.

“And the opportunities it provides our elite players to stay in Adelaide and train in their home city, close to their families.

“Players like Thanasi Kokkinakis, who wants to come home and spend some time with his family, playing with his coach, who is South Australian, can play at Memorial Drive and not leave the city to go interstate.

South Australia's Thanasi Kokkinakis during the Australian Open. Picture: AFP

“That’s a wonderful thing for us.

“It also provides opportunities for other sports and groups who want to be part of the Riverbank.

“Having the roof with the infrastructure that exists can do some amazing things for the city and drive jobs and economic activity.

“And also what it does for the growth of tennis — being able to all year round no matter what the weather conditions, in the city.

“It will do wonders for our school program, our tournaments and competitions, our national academy.

“All of that is a direct result of the investment in that roof.

“It will change the city.”

Construction of the roof has gone out to tender and work will be completed this year ahead of next year’s January tournament.