It may have taken a few more decades to make his first visit to the state, but the self-confessed sport tragic can talk Tasmanian tennis history like a native.

He uses Riverside’s 80-something national age champion Max Byrne as an example of the sport’s agelessness, and suddenly the names begin to flow.

“I’ve had really good conversations with Max who is passionate about wanting to see tennis continue to prosper,” Sturgess said.

“Max has been an amazing custodian for the sport and we’re lucky to have that sort of experience and Simon Youl working as a national academy coach, the work Angie Cunningham (nee Woolcock) did with the Women's Tennis Association, Dave MacPherson coaching the Bryan brothers, one of the most successful doubles teams of all time.

“I remember a lot of past Australian greats and Tasmania has certainly had good representation in that.”

Four months after taking over from Mark Handley as Tennis Tasmania’s chief executive officer, Sturgess is enjoying discovering the state with wife Shanan and sons Ethan, nearly 4, and Noah, 1.

“I saw positions advertised in Tasmania and ACT and knew I wanted to take on a new challenge,” said the 38-year-old.

“I had not been to Tasmania before and saw it as an exciting opportunity and different way of life with the nature, food and arts scenes that Tasmania has, not only for me but for my family.

“It’s not hard to sell Tasmania as a fantastic place.

“The first couple of months was fly-in fly-out as we packed up our Melbourne home but now it’s four months in and I’m loving it.”

Sturgess said tennis has been in his blood from the time he picked up a plastic bat shaped like a racquet at his grandparents’ house and used to sit with his grandmother watching Wimbledon on TV for as long as he could stay awake.

Having completed his schooling in NSW with a hotel management course, his working life began in Sydney hotels but it wasn’t long before he decided he wanted to work in sport.

Sturgess duly completed a commerce degree in sport management at Deakin University in Melbourne and worked at several of the city’s major sporting venues including Etihad Stadium, Melbourne and Olympic Parks before seizing an opportunity to travel.

​He worked for the Lawn Tennis Association in London as facilities manager at Queens Club and in promotions at Wimbledon before returning to Australia and working with Tennis West in Perth.

Tennis Australia roles followed where he ran the Asia Pacific wildcard playoffs for five years in China, and at the Australian Open where he was in the operations team for seven years responsible for making sure the field of play was ready to use.

Asked whether he played the sport, Sturgess said: “I played a few tournaments but reached no great height and completed a coaching course with the LTA and later with Tennis Australia.

“I’ve just always loved tennis and still do. I get the most enjoyment from just working in tennis every day.

“I’m extremely lucky to be in such a place. It does not feel like work when you wake up knowing you are going to be involved in tennis each day.”

Since joining Tennis Tasmania, Sturgess has enjoyed familiarising himself with the state and is excited by its tennis potential.

He speaks passionately about the success of the Hobart, Burnie and Launceston international tournaments that bookend the Australian Open, reflecting how a player like Jordan Thompson can cut his teeth in Launceston in 2016 and then knock world No.1 Andy Murray out of the Queen’s Club Championship a year later.

“The regions have the opportunity to get up close with players at those tournaments but we’d love to see those facilities have people playing on them more often.”

In addition to its international offerings, Sturgess believes his new home state is also something of a market-leader in participation.

“Tasmanians get out and play sport even when it is freezing and tennis is a great sport in terms of health benefits and can be played for life,” he said.

​“We have a great opportunity at the moment to keep promoting the health benefits of the sport. There are a lot more opportunities for kids now through programs like ANZ Tennis Hot-Shots.

“Tennis is now the most requested sport in Australia under the sporting schools program and has been the No.1 delivered sport for quite a while. In Tasmania alone, over 12,000 kids participated in this program over the last 12 months.

“What we have to continue to do is find ways to keep kids playing and enjoying sport.”

Sturgess believes Tasmania is the ideal place to achieve that.

“People are really passionate here and it is inspiring.

“All people involved in tennis in Tasmania should be proud of that and we want to keep working with them to make tennis as accessible as possible, get the most out of the facilities and share the love of the sport.”