Thirteen of Iluka’s tinniest tennis fans from Iluka Public School received brand new tennis racquets last week. ANZ’s ongoing support of the initiative has already seen 80,000 racquets delivered since January 2015, with a further 30,000 to be delivered in 2018, bringing the total to 110,000 racquets. ANZ Tennis Hot Shots and Tennis Australia’s School Partnership Program aim to encourage more children to pick up a racquet and learn tennis as part of their health and physical education curriculum. Twenty-two time Grand Slam champion Todd Woodbridge is proud of the initiative’s success to date. “The ANZ racquet initiative is a fantastic way to introduce and inspire more kids to play tennis,” Woodbridge said. “ANZ has helped us introduce tennis to kids in schools by delivering 110,000 racquets across the country which is an amazing achievement. “For them to take a racquet home means that tennis is always within their reach and helps kids to develop healthy habits that keep them fit and active.” Nationwide, more than 384,584 children played ANZ Tennis Hot Shots in 2016/17, making the program one of Australia’s most popular sport participation programs. There are currently more than 2650 schools Australia wide who participate in the program. Tennis Australia CEO Craig Tiley said he looked forward to seeing more racquets in the hands of Australian children. “This ongoing initiative shows out continued joint commitment with ANZ to increasing tennis participation and ensuring kids are active at school,” Tiley said.