The phone has not stopped ringing at Penny Campbell's house since the weekend.
As co-ordinator of the Wanaka Tennis Club centenary, she has spent the last few days fielding calls, text messages and emails from people who attended Sunday's celebrations and came away full of praise and keen to pass on their appreciation to those who organised the event.
‘‘People just had such a wonderful day,'' Mrs Campbell said.
‘‘I'd never expected to get this sort of response.''
As well as receiving plenty of positive feedback, the tennis club also managed to double its expected fundraising target of $15,000, taking an estimated $30,000 to go towards a new grandstand, two new courts and lighting. The money was raised from ticket sales and a silent auction with goods donated by local businesses.
Many people dressed in vintage tennis gear for the day, which got under way with a champagne brunch attended by about 150 guests and featuring Commonwealth Games gold medallist Dick Tayler and former top Otago tennis player Margaret Borland as guest speakers.
In the afternoon, a temporary courtside grandstand was packed with wine-sipping spectators for a series of exhibition matches.
The sporting spectacular culminated in a tri-nations doubles match, with top New Zealand players Alistair Hunt and Stephen Downes taking on Auckland-based South African professional Wesley Whitehouse and Wanaka Tennis Club's Australian coach Perry Crockett.
The game produced a number of humorous moments, as the players demonstrated as much showmanship as tennis talent.
At one point, Downes ended up on the opposition's side of the net returning his own partner's volley, and later, Hunt took up a seat in front of the grandstand during a particularly long rally he was not a part of.
The crowd seemed unsure exactly who they should be cheering for, the New Zealanders, or their local - albeit Australian-raised - tennis coach.
After much laughter and good-natured ribbing from the crowd and the players, Crockett and Whitehouse were the eventual victors.
‘‘Somebody said it was better than watching the Australian Open,'' Mrs Campbell said.
