While it isn't uncommon for a tennis match to last for several hours, few go for as long as an entire day.
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That’s exactly what Robert Jamieson and his doubles partner Max de Somer plan to do, aiming to play for 24 hours straight all in the name of charity.
The pair will be competing against a rotating group of opponents between 4pm on Friday and 4pm on Saturday as part of The Pines tennis club’s Tennis Carnivale.
The event will be fundraising for the Ronald McDonald House charity, aiming to raise more than $6000 over the course of the day.
Mr Jamieson, who is the head coach of The Pines tennis club, said the idea for the marathon match was inspired by a similar event held at Weston Creek.
“We did an event a few years ago called Cardio Tennis, which was a 24-hour marathon where a person did tennis coaching for 24 hours and different groups turned up,” he said.
“We thought that with [our event] we would change it up a bit. Playing tennis is a bit more social and anybody can be involved.”
Both Mr Jamieson and Mr de Somer will square off against groups of six people every hour, playing in a shortened Fast Four version of the game.
The duo will only be taking 15 minute breaks every three hours, making energy conservation a key priority.
“We'll try and avoid the caffeine and food is also a big part of it as well, you can push through afterwards,” Mr Jamieson said.
This will be the second year the event has been run, and Mr Jamieson said he’s learned many lessons about how to last the full 24 hours for this year’s event.
“We certainly learned to pace ourselves throughout the day and not to go too hard too early,” he said.
“We might need some Red Bulls by the end to get through, but we’ll be having a lot of fun as well.”
The marathon tennis event was originally scheduled for February 10 and 11, but was postponed due to Canberra’s extreme heat which saw temperatures rise to above 40 degrees.
Last year’s tennis marathon saw Mr Jamieson and his previous doubles partner compete against 120 different participants, and this year, he is hoping for more.
“The enjoyment comes from playing against different people,” he said. “If you play against the same person [for 24 hours] you start to get bored and that’s when you start feeling tired because your mind isn't as active.”
Details: Carnivale, Pines Tennis Club, Chisholm. Saturday, February 25 from 1.30-4.30pm.