The open women’s category is set to be bigger than ever, with 41 entrants.

Tournament director Michael Robin said he wasn’t sure where the surging interest in women’s tennis was coming from, but was thrilled with the increase in numbers.

“The amount of women we have entering is huge for us, it’ll be a massive competition,” Robin said.

“We’re getting closer to parity between the men’s and women’s competition, which is fantastic for local tennis.”

A total of 193 players have registered for the event, which is in its third year of being played for national ranking points in the men’s women’s and junior categories.

Robin said last year’s gamble on making the junior categories nationally ranked would pay off for years to come.

“Ranking the under-12, under-14 and under-16 competitions has been hugely beneficial to the running of the tournament,” Robin said.

“It’s bringing more players in, and it’s increasing the overall quality of the play as well, which in turn is fantastic for our local contingent.

“To have nearly 300 competitors for the second year in a row is an indication of the standing the tournament has.”

The tournament has attracted participants from as far away as Sydney, South Australia and the Northern Territory.

Robin said the quality of the courts at Wodonga was what kept people coming back.

“People come here to play on some of the best grass in the country,” Robin said.

Almost all the games will be played on grass, we’ll only be going to the synthetic and plexicushion surfaces if it rains.”

It looks as though the weather with pose no issues for the weekend, with the temperature set to hover around 30 degrees with plenty of sun for the duration of the tournament.

“We’re looking good ahead, everything is running smoothly,” Robin said.

“It doesn’t look much better than this.”