The 36-year-old from GIANT TENNIS received the Coaching Excellence - Club/Centre Award on Tuesday night at an online ceremony.

After what has been a tough 18 months for sports, the accolade came as both a surprise and boost for Fitzgerald.

"There were a few clues dropped in when it was being announced and then once I heard my name it came as a shock," Fitzgerald said.

The award recognises his commitment to developing tennis players, specifically at a grassroots level throughout the Bendigo region.

"The last few years have been quite tough for everyone and while we weren't able to get out on the court we did our best to keep our students engaged with regular contact and virtual classes," Fitzgerald said.

"We just wanted to make everyone's time in lockdown a bit easier."

TV acting chief executive officer Adam Crameri was elated to be able to recognise the efforts of all of the winners and finalists.

"Congratulations to all finalists and to the winners of the 2021 Victorian Tennis Awards. We had incredible nominations put forth by the Victorian tennis community and being able to recognise the finalists and winners was a privilege," Crameri said.

Fitzgerald's career includes playing college tennis in the United States, a stint in Germany as a coach, and playing on the Australian circuit before moving back to Bendigo to start a family.

With recognition from Victoria's peak state body now to his name, Fitzgerald is eager to keep on doing what he does best.

"My love for coaching and working with kids and tennis players in general continues to grow every year," he said

"I am on a never-ending journey and the more I keep doing it, my love for it only grows stronger.

"Being able to have a positive impact on players on and off the court and being able to watch them grow is very rewarding."

GIANT Tennis operates at six different locations throughout the Bendigo region: Axedale, Maiden Gully, Castlemaine, RSL, South Bendigo and Strathfieldsaye.

Other regional Victorian winners included the Warrnambool Tennis Club which received the Most Outstanding Tournament Award.

The club received the award after running the 2020 Warrnambool Lawn Open which attracted players from across the globe, including tournament winner Zuzana Zlochova who won the women's open singles 6-3, 7-5 over Australian Belinda Woolcock.

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