Our Story

For over 30 years Vince Barclay Tennis has been growing our great sport at our Macquarie University complex and we are proud of all that we have achieved during that time.

The facilities you see and use today bear little resemblance to those we had when we started our journey back in 1992 when we started out with 6 synthetic grass courts.

Later in 1993, we recognized the growing demand for more courts at our facility and decided to take action by adding an additional six synthetic grass courts. This expansion allowed us to offer more programs and competitions to our players, as well as provide more availability for practice and training.

In 2003, Vince made a bold decision to expand the facilities at our tennis center by building a brand new hard court. Vince has always been a forward-thinking person who is dedicated to staying ahead of the curve in the tennis world. He recognised that while synthetic grass had been a popular surface for tennis courts in the past, it wasn’t necessarily the best option for developing future champions.

Vince’s decision to build a hard court was a testament to his commitment to providing the best possible facilities for our players. We are proud to have hard courts as part of our offerings, and we are dedicated to continuing to provide top-notch tennis experiences for our community.

In 2004, our tennis center made a bold move to differentiate ourselves from the other tennis centers in Sydney by constructing one of the few red clay courts in the city. This was a significant investment for us, but it quickly proved to be a worthwhile decision, as notable players such as Lleyton Hewitt, Tony Roche, Bernard Tomic, and Darren Cahill began to train at our facility.

In addition to the red clay court, we also expanded our facilities by adding two more hard courts. Our commitment to providing top-notch facilities paid off, as we quickly became one of the most popular tennis centers in the area. We saw an increase in interest and participation, and our reputation as a premier tennis centre began to spread. We continue to maintain our facilities to the highest standards, ensuring that our players have access to the best possible tennis experience.

In 2007, Tennis Australia made a major decision at the Australian Open to switch from the Rebound Ace to the new Aussie True Blue Plexicushion. This change was made with the aim of improving the overall playing experience for the players, as well as enhancing the viewing experience for spectators. In order to determine the best colour for the new surface, Tennis Australia conducted color testing at VBTA.

2010 was an exciting and pivotal year for us, as we were honored to be selected as Tennis Australia’s designated clay court research center. To fulfill our role, we undertook a massive expansion of our facilities, building three world-class Italian clay courts, one high-performance American Har-Tru Green Clay court, and a cutting-edge Swiss Conipur Clay court.

Through our dedication to research and development, we were able to stay ahead of the curve in the rapidly evolving world of tennis court technology and provide the best possible playing surfaces for players of all levels

After a long wait due to the Covid pandemic, we finally completed our project in 2021, which involved constructing three additional hard courts. This brought the total number of hard courts at our facility to six, allowing us to accommodate more players and offer more court availability for training and tournaments. With the addition of these new courts, we can now better meet the needs of our players and continue to foster a thriving tennis community. We are excited to see the positive impact that these new courts will have on the development of our athletes, and we look forward to seeing the facility continue to grow and improve in the future.