RT Position at Ballarat
Published on: Jul 29, 2025
Ballarat Real Tennis Club
Head Professional
The appointment of a permanent, highly experienced Head Professional is essential to the club’s plan for growth. The opportunity is an outstanding one, to take the lead role at this club and be responsible for its success. He or she will run the club with a team comprising an Assistant and a combination of a Trainee Pro/interns/Gap Year students. Administrative support is provided currently by the Club Manager.
Alongside the requirement to run the programme of competitive and social tournaments, coach, mark, make balls and maintain racquets, the Head Pro will lead the development of their team and, with it and with club members, promote the game and the club in this thriving city.
The Head Pro will set the tone of the club and must ensure a happy, welcoming environment for members of all standards and for helping every player achieve their tennis goals. Its members are a great strength of the club and many give generously of their time and skills as volunteers, assisting with events and other aspects of club life.
The success of the club as a whole will depend on the enthusiasm, diligence and reliability of the team of Pros, who will be incentivised to ensure financial success through high levels of court usage and a full membership. The remuneration package will be flexible and negotiable.
The Club
The re-launch of the club in Ballarat (75 minutes’ drive west from Melbourne International Airport), now known as the Ballarat Real Tennis Club (BRTC), is underway, since Chris Ronaldson and Maggie Henderson-Tew took over responsibility for the club on 1 July. Their objective is achievement of the club’s considerable potential, by increasing its membership and levels of court occupancy that will bring commercial success, while polishing its reputation as one of the most welcoming and convivial of clubs and raising its profile internationally.
CJR and MHT are funding the renovation of the court and club facilities and the remuneration of the Pros until the club can become self-financing and profitable. This programme of refurbishment should be completed in 2025. Guest Professionals are being appointed for 2025 and CJR and Maggie will be at the club in Q1 of 2026 to drive membership growth. It is hoped that the permanent Head Pro will be in post by the time the Radley duo return to the UK, or earlier, if individual circumstances permit.
The City
Ballarat has a vibrant arts and cultural life, attractive garden-city streetscapes and some of Australia’s finest heritage architecture, as a result of its time as the epicentre of Victoria’s 19th century gold rush. Ballarat is part of a bid for UNESCO World Heritage status. Its current economy is based on the provision of high-quality services, particularly education and health.
Rapid road/rail connections Ballarat to Melbourne are just part of the reason for a strong relationship between BRTC and the Royal Melbourne Tennis Club (RMTC). There is a busy calendar of inter-club visits and tournaments with all of the country’s real tennis clubs.
To register interest and apply, please contact Maggie Henderson-Tew on maggie.ht@btinternet.com before Saturday 17 August 2025.
