He was once one of the biggest thorns in Central Highlands’ side when it came to contesting the regionals, but Hart will now represent the host region as he takes on his former Wimmera teammates, as well as representatives from the nine other competing districts.

While he missed last year’s championships with a broken foot, Hart has an outstanding record at the regionals, winning events in the under-12, 14 and 16 categories as a junior.

At just 21 years of age, he has opted not to compete in the under-22 category, and will instead contest the singles, doubles and mixed doubles events in the open men’s division.

“I haven’t really got too many expectations for this tournament. I’m just trying to provide good support for Greg Parry and Tracey Armarant, who I will be partnering with this weekend,” Hart said.

“It’s still nice to be able to get back into some high quality tennis and hopefully play against some former Wimmera teammates.”

Studying a teaching degree at the Federation University’s Ballarat branch, Hart spends time as a tennis coach under Rob Benoit at the Ballarat Regional Tennis Centre, which makes him eligible to play for Central Highlands. “I’ve been playing tennis ever since I was about three or four,”he said.