It’s game on this sporting season in WA

For those who love their tennis

2017 will kick off with the legendary Hopman Cup taking place on 1-7 January. The Hopman Cup is Australia’s mixed doubles tennis competition – and in 2016 it was the Aussies in the spotlight. The dynamic duo of Nick Kyrgios and Daria Gavrilova were the winners of our first Hopman Cup since 1999, defeating the team of Alexandr Dolgopolov and Elina Svitolina of Ukraine. Nearly 100,000 tennis fans come to this event to see some of the world’s best players compete, which have included the likes of Andy Murray and Serena Williams.

The players also get some off-court time, with Kyrgios playing some beach tennis at Cottesloe and Andy Murray exploring the beautiful Kings Park last January. This event is a great time to visit Perth not only for the tennis but for the events taking place around it. Murray was a guest at the annual “family and friends” day where a group of kids watched him practice and the Speed Serve Challenge competition clocked the fastest serve at the tennis comp at 181 kilometres an hour.

Making waves at WA’s surf pro

Surfers Point in Margaret River sees the world’s top surfers gather in March/April every year for the Drug Aware Margaret River Pro. On this classic stretch of WA coastline the top 36 men and top 18 women competitors in the sport will catch the huge waves at Margaret River Mainbreak and the Box.

Surfing is what this coastline seems made for with 75 breaks along a 130-kilometres stretch. If you want to grab your own waves try the sets at Yallingup Main Break or Rabbit Hill which is the home of the local surfing great Taj Burrow. Another great spot just down Caves Road is the quieter, but equally epic, Smiths Beach – a beloved spot of locals in the know.

In 2013, the Margaret River Pro received World Championship status from the world surfing league and since then the crowds and the event have grown by doing what it does best “putting the world’s best surfers on the world’s best waves”. For the 2016 event that meant extending the Pro to include North Point surf spot in Gracetown making for even more great waves for the surfers to catch.