Local Legend: Raewyn Heywood - Four Generations of Tennis

"Local Legends" is a web article series where Tennis NZ celebrates club workers and volunteers who dedicate considerable time and energy to their club. If you want to nominate someone, click here.

From ensuring her own children and grandchildren play, to starting tennis programmes in schools, Raewyn has been an ambassador for tennis in Northland for decades.

Four generations and counting - that is how deep tennis runs in the Heywood family.

Raewyn Heywood, former president of Tennis Northland, remembers learning the game as a child from her Mother.

“Our mum, Mary Miller, was the eldest of 12. So her parents, my Nana, had to keep them busy, and had them out on the courts.”

Mary loved the game, and played consistently for Springfield Tennis Club, and was a community coach. She made sure all her children played, including Raewyn.

Similarly, Raewyn has passed on her love of the game to her children, who have done the same with theirs.

“My daughter and I have won a few doubles tournaments together, and last month my 16 year old grandson and I won the Springfield Mal Salmon Mixed Doubles tournament, playing against my brother in the final. So that was a bit of fun!.”

Raewyn’s commitment to fostering the sport in Northland is evident by her service. She served as President of Tennis Northland for 10 years, and was the Treasurer for the Northland Tennis Seniors and Springfield Tennis Clubs for decades. Her time on the board as President was focused on getting rackets in hands, and ensuring Northland’s facilities were up to scratch.

“Along with coach Pete Stenberg and Janet Agnew, we launched the “Taste of Tennis” program in the local Northland primary schools. All designed to make sure kids were getting to try tennis, and from there decide if they want to commit to a club and further training or not.”

“We definitely got a few kids interested, and they’ll have the sport for life now. If they drop off for a few years to travel or go to uni, they’ll always have the technique if they want to pick it back up again.”

Another large-scale project was resurfacing the courts at the Thomas Neale Family Memorial Park.

“The courts were initially plexi-pave, so the seniors weren’t too keen to continue playing on those. Once we sorted the change to astro for six of the courts, the Whangārei Veterans have been booming, often with most of the astro courts full twice a week.”

Raewyn not only organises and supports the sport she loves, she is most certainly a player, and has been playing at a high level for decades. As part of the Northland Seniors Team she has won many medals in the Tennis NZ Seniors/Masters Teams Event held around Easter every year. The last gold medal the team won was in 2019 in the 60-64 age group in Christchurch. She has also tasted success in Australia when she was part of the NZ Womens 45-49 team that won gold medal in an Australian Veteran Tennis Championships in Newcastle, and then again in Adelaide competing in the 55 to 64 age group.

“Playing the sport has kept me alive. I really believe it’s great for your health, and for keeping you moving. I’ve been a type one diabetic since I was 17 years old and I put my good health down to tennis. That’s what it’s about, not winning or losing. I am getting used to losing to the young people these days, but I still simply love playing.”

Another tournament that she has won that’s close to her heart is the annual Janet Agnew Carnival Doubles - a highlight in the Northland tennis calendar.

“Janet has also been a really important person up here in Northland tennis. In 1986 she suffered a serious car accident, and didn’t think she’d play again. This tournament was set up in her honour, and she is so tough she did play again. My daughter Shelley and I won the A grade women’s doubles last year which was special. But it’s more about the tournament itself. We signed a huge number of sponsors, which shows how important the tournament is to us locals.”

When asked about the future of Northland tennis, Raewyn was happy where things were tracking.

“Brittany White, who is in charge right now, is doing an amazing job. She’s young and full of ideas, and I’m happy to support her from afar. We have our own set of challenges up here, mainly just not quite the numbers to really keep competitive play consistent, so a lot of us travel to Auckland to stay sharp. But we love it up here and hope the sport continues to grow.”

In typical Kiwi fashion it’s never been about the recognition for Raewyn, but Raewyn was made a life member of Tennis Northland in 2022. She also received the Beverly Evans Trophy for service to Senior Tennis. Raewyn’s colleagues speak extremely highly of her contribution and dedication. A colleague at Raewyn’s club said:

“Her relentless dedication and energy have made an indelible mark on the tennis community. Her impact on Northland tennis is profound, and her legacy will endure for generations to come.”