As Australia’s top women prepare to take on Great Britain in their Billie Jean King Cup Qualifier clash this weekend, some of tennis’s rising stars have joined the team in Melbourne to meet their heroes and improve their budding games.
The junior BJK Cup Camp has welcomed 10 girls from across the country, all under the age of 13, to hone their skills with Tennis Australia’s development coaches. They have been selected based on their ability and character, and many of them have their sights set on one day turning pro.
“I want to get in the top five, number one would be nice,” said 12-year-old Vanessa Fitzgerald, who has already been Australian No.1 for her birth year and was named Regional Female Junior Athlete of the Year at last year’s Queensland Tennis Awards.
Vanessa Fitzgerald working on her backhands.
Another of the camp’s stars, 11-year-old Serena Paloulian, has similarly high aims.
“My goal is to be professional and to win a Grand Slam,” said Paloulian, who travelled from Sydney to attend.
She has enjoyed spending time with the coaches at Melbourne Park, especially on the National Tennis Centre’s clay courts.
“Coming from New South Wales, it's great that I'm representing my state, being here with all the best players in the country.”
Serena Paloulian practicing on the clay.
Tennis Australia coach Viriginia Galbarini Paseyro explained how being immersed in the BJK Cup team environment can provide these juniors an insight into what it takes to reach the professional level.
“[This camp is about] exposing them to everything that's going to happen for them in maybe five, six, eight years from now,” she said.
“We help them through their tactical thinking, how they control their emotions, how they manage their energy on court [and] how they think about tennis.
“Everything they need to prepare to be ready to go for a full day away.”
A former division one US college player herself, Galbarini Paseyro emphasised the importance of juniors shadowing professional players in these environments.
“From seeing the players train, to being together as a team, being around coaches that they might not be too familiar with. [They’re] away from parents, into the whole routine of what a professional player lives and breathes day in, day out,” she said.
“They spend a lot of time on court training … But there's so [much] happening outside of all that – the time they get to hang out with each other, the time they get to rest, the time they get to be people.
“Not just tennis players, but people, and how they [manage that] and how they support each other.”
Some of Australia's top 12/u junior girls training at the National Tennis Centre at Melbourne Park.
The camp brings aspiring players together from all different states and territories, connecting them with fellow athletes they may one day share the court with in future national teams, such is the case for 12-year-old Melburnian Lola Fromberg.
“I've got to know so many friends from this sport,” said Fromberg, who has already amassed a slew of impressive on-court achievements, including representing Victoria at the Australian Teams Championships.
In addition to her father, Richard Fromberg, who was a former top-30 player and twice made the fourth round of the Australian Open, she also listed Ash Barty and Coco Gauff as her idols.
Fromberg is one of several players from the camp that will compete in the 12/u Australian Claycourt Championships in Canberra next week, a tournament she is looking forward to.
“I feel really excited, but also nervous at the same time. But nervous means you want it,” Fromberg said.
Lola Fromberg training on court during the BJK Cup junior camp.
While the developing stars possess lofty ambitions, the camp has a firm focus on ensuring players enjoy themselves.
“First of all, it's the love of the game,” Galbarini Paseyro said.
“If you're struggling in that aspect, being so young, then maybe a little bit of a step back [is needed] and then nurture that love for the game and the fun aspect and the embracing of the challenge needs to be there.
“It’s not always that easy. So that's why we try and talk to them about embracing challenges because they are still learning a lot of things.”
The youngsters will be cheering the Australian BJK Cup team on from the stands of John Cain Arena this weekend after a meet-and-greet with stars Talia Gibson, Kimberly Birrell and Storm Hunter, which included practising their matchday chants.
“It was cool. I got a high five from Birrell because I’m the only one from Queensland,” a beaming Fitzgerald said.
Whatever the result of the tie, the group have already made memories that will last a lifetime.