Matt Donnelly was part of the title-winning duo at the Gunnedah-based Boxing Day tennis event named in honour of his well-known uncle John ‘Dallas’ Donnelly.

The recent Boxing Day event marked the 53rd running of the John ‘Dallas’ Donnelly Memorial Boxing Day tennis competition.

What started out as a few mates – namely John ‘Dallas’ Donnelly, Kerry Smith, Tim Lawrence and Robert ‘Changa’ Jones – getting together on Boxing Day for a hit of tennis has since grown into one title while all who play strive to win.

The name came about after ‘Dallas’ sadly passed away in 1986.

Some competitors have played for years without winning a title while others have won several titles.

Anyone is welcome to play, while the handicapper John Hickey pairs together seeded and unseeded players to even up the competition.

The temperature is often around 35 degrees.

In the first semi-final, Matt Hoppe and Josh Launders defeated ‘Stumpy’ Howard and Michael Donnelly; Dallas’s brother.

Jack Hickey and Matt Donnelly defeated Gary Hogan and Sam Muller in the second semi-final, before the Jack Hickey/Matt Donnelly combination took out the title while the runners-up were Matt Hoppe/Josh Launders.

It was Jack Hickey’s fourth title, and Matt Donnelly’s first after playing for 16 years.

Thanks go to the Gunnedah Tennis Association for the use of the courts for 53 years, and to the Court House Hotel for hosting the players each year.

Matt Donnelly had a long awaited title win in the local Boxing Day tennis event named after his uncle ‘Dallas’.

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