Vale Ian Adderley
It is with much sadness that we advise the passing of Ian Adderley on 21st August, 2023. As Donvale’s founding President in 1965, Ian was instrumental in establishing the thriving tennis club that remains to this day. He remained active on the GMC for many years and held several roles over this time. He was also an outspoken voice at ERT Committee meetings, advocating for changes to support women’s tennis well before others in our sport recognised the importance of this.
Ian was also a central chair umpire at the Australian Open and Davis Cup matches and other tournaments around Australia. He developed a training program for Australian tennis lines people, and the model was ultimately adopted by tennis internationally. It was Ian’s idea to allow lines people to wear runners onto the court, arguing that they were standing for hours and ought to be comfortable.
His wife & 4 children all played tennis but Ian continued to play well after they had moved on to other sports. He played competition tennis well into his eighties.
He never failed to tell you an interesting piece of club or tennis history.