Eastern Southland Tennis secretary Beth McCann said there were seven clubs taking part in the competition, including Citizens, Edendale, Gore, Mataura, St Peter's College, Tapanui and Waikaka.
"We used to have Kaiwera, Pukerau and Willowbank - they are sleepy little hollows that used to have a team," Mrs McCann said.
Tennis club numbers had dwindled through the years, and Mrs McCann said this was largely because of the plentiful array of other sporting codes that clashed with tennis times.
To combat the number of players giving tennis up to play other sports, Mrs McCann said this year's round of competition would be the second year A grade tennis in the Eastern Southland Tennis Competition would be played on a Tuesday night.
"A lot of people wanted to do other things in the weekend, that's why there's a slowing down of tennis. There's too much happening in the weekend," Mrs McCann said.
Regardless of dwindling tennis numbers, Mrs McCann said this year's round of competition was still high quality, with committed and tennis-loving players ready to take the court.
While the A grade competition was on a Tuesday night, the rest of the grades in the Eastern Southland Tennis Competition would be played on a Saturday.
The C and Intermediate grades would play on a Saturday morning, while the A reserve and B grades would play on a Saturday afternoon.
Unlike other sporting codes that can restrict players from moving through grades based on their age and weight, tennis was a sport that encouraged players to perform at their highest potential, and if a player was good enough to make the A grade, then the chances were they could be up against their parents, or family members who played in a higher grade, she said.
"Tennis is a good sport for the family," Mrs McCann said.
Southland tennis player Matt Mill enjoys taking to the court.
He has played for Southland, Eastern Southland, and Southland Country, as well as playing for Gore in the Eastern Southland Tennis Competition.
The competition wraps up at the end of March next year.
