Welcome to the International Lawn Tennis Club of New Zealand
"Hands across the net, friendship across the ocean "


Welcome to the IC of New Zealand

The IC of New Zealand was formed in 1956 and has around 150 members in New Zealand and around 50 living overseas.

Ron McKenzie and Jeffrey Robson inspired the formation of our Club after they had been made Honorary Overseas Members by the IC of Great Britain. Jeff was our Patron from 1994 until he died in 2022 aged 93 and always took a very active part in our activities.

At our May 2023 AGM we appointed another long-time member Sir Colin Maiden as our Patron. Sadly Sir Colin passed away in July 2024. We are now delighted to announce that Chris Lewis, a well known member and former Wimbledon finalist has agreed to become our Patron.

ICNZ was very pleased to send 2 teams to help celebrate the centenary of the foundation of the original International Club in Great Britain in 1924.

The revolving photos above reflect some of the team. To read more click on the August 2024 Newsletter on the Noticeboard as this is entirely a report of the IC Week held on the Wimbledon grass courts.

Some of the names of former or current International players who are members include:

Lan Bale, John A Barry, Dr Peter Becroft, Jill Bignell, Beverley (Vercoe) Billington, Martin Colenbrander, Marcus Daniell, Gilles de Gouy,      Bruce Derlin, Malcolm Elley, Marina Erakovic, Raewyn (Dickson) Ferkins, Patsy (Belton) Fleming, James Greenhalgh, Peter Hampton, Brett Hibbert, Alistair Hunt, Grantley Judge, Betty (Bryant) Kay, Robin Legge-Hunt, Dan King-Turner, David Lewis, Mark Lewis, Andrew Lobb, John Lockington, Greg Long, Justin Mackenzie, Cecilie (Fleming) McIntyre, John Mills, Ethne (Green) Mitchell, Dame Ruia Morrison, David Mustard, Mark Neilson, Linda (Stewart) Nightingale, Pavlina Nola , Elizabeth (Terry) Odgers, Onny Parun, Tony Parun, Danny Parun, Brenda Perry, Marilyn Pryde-Lawrence, Erin Routliffe, Ruth Seeman, Philip Seemann, Des Shaw, James Shortall, Jeffrey Simpson, Artem Sitak, Gary Slater, Elaine (Becroft) Stephan, Brett Steven, Judy (Burke) Tinnock, Claudine Toleafoa, Andrew Turner, Michael Venus, Marcel Vos, Wesley Whitehouse, Dan Willman, Kevin Woolcott, Brian Woolf.

Overseas based Anton Bettink, Howard Broun, Robert Clarke, Ian Crookenden,James Dunphy, Ron Dutton, Kelly Evernden, Pauline (Elliott) Hanson, Lew Gerrard, Jeremy Grubi, Steve Guy, Robyn Legge-Hunt, Chris Lewis, Mark Long, Julie Richardson, Russell Simpson, Oliver Statham, Rubin Statham, Paul Smith, Stephen Temple.

Touring Players. We also have a group of younger players who are actively playing on various circuits. At the Paris Olympics Erin Routliffe and Lulu Sun represented NZ.

The IC of New Zealand is active in organising a number of events and matches for both junior and senior members.

The NZ Funds Trans-Tasman Trophy event for junior players (16 & under) was competed for annually with Australia, on a home and away basis. This led to the wider zone eliminations.

In 2008 the World Final of the first Compass IC Junior Challenge event washeld very successfully in Auckland. This has now grown each year with the elimination matches being played every second year, with the final the following one. The 2013-4 Finals were played at Wimbledon, the 2015-6 at Monaco and the 2017-18 in Japan. 2022 was held in San Diego and November 2023 in La Jolla USA. This is now called the Rod Laver Junior Challenge.

Morning Tea functions at the ATP & WTA tournaments in Auckland each January, for members and overseas players.The worldwide Covid-19 pandemic led to the cancellation of the two International Tournaments for the 2nd year in January 2022 but we were thrilled to be back in action again in January 2023 and 2024.

60th Anniversary Weekend. In late August 2016 we held a wonderful celebration, with tennis, golf and a special Dinner. Around 120 members and partners came from around New Zealand and overseas for this. Special guests included Lew Gerrard and Ian Crookenden, two well-known NZ Davis Cup Players. Our Patron, Jeff Robson MBE was honoured with Life membership of ICNZ, a very well deserved honour. Since then Life Membership has been awarded to Des Shaw and Brian Woolf in 2019 and Jill Bignell in May 2023.The most recent was Cecilie McIntyre in 2024 after 5 years as President and 25 years on the committee. She has now edited 100 of the occasional Newsletter which can be opened on the Noticeboard.

In October 2019 we resumed our matches with the Australian IC when a NZ team of 10 members with supporters travelled to the Gold Coast for a very successful weekend of friendly rivalry. NZ won the matches 8/3 therefore becoming the first holders of the Sedgman-Tills Trophy. It was a great pleasure to have Frank Sedgman and his wife there for the weekend, and also on the Saturday evening to meet Ken Rosewall and his (now late) wife Wilma.We thank ICA President Kerryn Pratt and her committee for making us very welcome.

After a Covid postponement in March 2022, we played another match with the Australian IC in Wanaka, in the South Island in March 2023 which although smaller was well contested and NZ retained the Sedgman-Tills Trophy. See the Noticeboard for our newsletters covering this and other events.

IC Council News

July 2026
Meet your Regional Representative for Australasia: Kerryn Pratt (IC of Australia)

Meet your Regional Representative for Australasia: Kerryn Pratt (IC of Australia)

Kerryn Pratt has enjoyed a lifelong connection with tennis, from competing at the highest levels of the game to building an award-winning career in sports media. A former Australian junior representative and WTA player, Kerryn has been an active member of the IC for more than 25 years and now serves as the IC Council Regional Representative for Australasia – supporting the ICs of Australia and New Zealand.

Growing up in a tennis family, Kerryn was one of Australia's leading juniors, representing her country through to the Under-21 level and competing at Junior Wimbledon. One of her fondest memories came in 1976 when she was part of the first Australian team to tour China alongside fellow junior Michelle Pekovic, and Australian legends Ken Rosewall, Mal Anderson and Neale Fraser – an experience that created friendships and memories lasting a lifetime.

She went on to compete on the WTA Tour and international circuit, playing in the main draw of three of the four Grand Slams, reaching a career-high ranking inside the world's top 150 in singles, and enjoying a standout doubles run to the Australian Open semifinals, earning Last Eight Club membership. Injury and health challenges brought her playing career to an early close, but tennis continued to shape her future.

While studying on scholarship at the Australian Institute of Sport, Kerryn completed a degree in Sports Journalism before becoming Australia's first female sports reporter on network television. She later worked as a sports journalist with major broadcasters, produced the renowned 60 Minutes programme, and became a familiar voice as a tennis commentator across all four Grand Slams, as well as covering multiple Olympic Games and other major sporting events.

Having grown up aware of the IC through her parents – both former players and members – Kerryn was encouraged to become involved by her mother, Maureen McCalman Pratt, along with many respected figures including Cedric Mason, Frank Sedgman, Paul McNamee and Ken Rosewall. Since joining and becoming an active member more than 25 years ago, Kerryn served on the Committee of the IC of Australia, then as Secretary, Vice President and, until January 2026, as its first female President. "The sense of tradition and friendship of a unique community that brings together people with a shared history in tennis and a genuine love of the game is something very special," she says.

Among Kerryn’s favourite IC memories are international tours with fellow members, particularly representing Australia alongside her mother in Paris as guests of the IC of France, travelling with the touring team hosted by the IC of Great Britain at Wimbledon, and memorable visits to Prague and Luxembourg. Closer to home, she enjoys celebrating Australian tennis legends at IC of Australia events, welcoming visiting IC members, and the vibrant atmosphere of the annual Australian Open cocktail party. She has also been proud to help develop initiatives such as Beyond the Tour and the IC Grand Slam Reunion.

As Regional Representative for Australasia, Kerryn is passionate about ensuring the region's voice is heard within the international IC community. "I enjoy giving our region a voice at the IC table, especially as we are so far from the European hub," she says. "It's motivating to help grow the IC across Australasia and strengthen ties with our nearest neighbours. We love our Kiwi friends, and there's always a fun rivalry! It's a privilege to serve on the Council, represent our region and contribute ideas that help strengthen our amazing IC."

With her unique combination of elite playing experience, media expertise and longstanding commitment to the IC, Kerryn continues to be a passionate advocate for tennis, friendship and the values that unite the international IC family.

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Our Honorary Secretary is Angela Hart
Telephone: + 6421 168 5148 

 email:secretary.icnz56@gmail.com

 

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