Uladulla is a fair distance from Gold Coast’s KDV Sport complex.
Located 1100km south of KDV Sport, the New South Wales coastal town is where Anne Malligan travelled from in order to compete in the Australian Teams Championships.
The three-hour car ride, followed by a flight to the Gold Coast, might seem like a long trek to most, but Malligan is no stranger to travelling long distances for her tennis. The 15-year-old is regularly driven interstate for tournaments, often making a seven-hour journey from Uladulla.
“I guess I love tennis,” said Malligan, who has been travelling for tennis since age 10.
Lachlan Finnerty, who perfectly fulfilled the stereotype of a laidback larrikin as he arrived rocking an 80s style mullet, is based in Gunnedah, five hours north of Sydney and 600km from the Carrara site. The 11-year-old travelled the furthest away from home he has been for a tennis tournament.
He and Malligan formed part of the inaugural Australian Country team, which along with the All Stars team is one of two new teams that competed in the Australian Teams Championships this year. It meant that towns such as Uladulla and Gunnedah were represented on the national stage.
“It’s really nice [to be a member of the first Australian Country team] because sometimes you can just forget about the country people,” Finnerty said.
“I’m really excited and happy to be here.”
The addition of an Australian Country team increases the scope of talent identification around Australia, searching all corners of the country for our next tennis star.
Tennis Australia Manager of National Pathways and Touring, Rohan Fisher, believes the initiative, which has been maximised by other sports, will help strengthen the talent pool in tennis..
“Traditionally and historically, Australia's had a lot of players come from a country area,” Fisher said.
“Other sports do [country talent identification] really well and we're probably seeing a gap between what a country player and a city player is being offered in terms of the level of coaching and the programs that are in place.
“Players have become so professional in the big cities that sometimes when we're not seeing a young country player in the same light as we are, because they'd not had the same exposure or the same amount of hours.
“So, to actually bring an Australian country team together, really gives us a chance to see some players that we may not have seen otherwise.”
An All Stars team rounded out the 12 teams competing at the 43rd instalment of the tournament. With three players selected per team, the All Stars team is a culmination of the best fourth-ranked juniors of their state. It provided the opportunity to compete in a tournament crucial to player development.
> READ: Future stars to compete at Australian Teams Championships
“When I speak with the likes of Storm Hunter, or Casey Dellacqua, or Jessica Moore, they talk about the teams event as something that they all fondly remember,” Fisher said.
“That feeling of playing for something bigger than yourself, that’s something our sport doesn’t lend itself to too often. If we want to have players aspiring to play for their country and having that feeling and playing for something bigger than themselves, I think this team's event helps towards that.”
The benefits extend beyond players, with the Australian Country and All Stars teams incorporating managers who have been involved in the Tennis Australia coaching education pathway.
All Stars 15/u girls team manager Lachlan Gotz is one of the beneficiaries, involved in his first tournament at a high-performance level. The tournament allowed him to gain a deeper understanding into how he can improve as a coach.
“The thing that I love about this week is actually about being able to be out on the court with my players and being able to help them through situations, not just tactically and strategically, but also being able to help them manage their emotions out on the court which is really important at this stage,” he said.
“It gives you really good intel on what you want to work on going forward, so it’s not just how we perform this week, but also understanding that this is a really good learning opportunity.”
Fisher knows firsthand the benefits of managing at the Australian Teams Championships. You only have to look at the wall of champions at KDV Sport to see his success at the tournament. The manager of the South Australian 14/u girls’ team that won the title in 2013, Fisher went on to coach the Australian Billie Jean King Cup team.
“One of the [benefits of this tournament] is being able to rebound day after day, it’s six days in a row,” he said.
“The idea of a Grand Slam or a WTA or an ATP event, you’ve actually got to win six or seven matches in a period of time and have the ability to back up the next day with another competitive match it’s pretty hard to do and pretty hard to create sometimes in Australia.”
“This is a guaranteed five or six-day experience … you actually get the ability [to help players improve] because you’re seeing them from one match to the next.
“The change that can be made, players will come out of this week with a lot of knowledge because when someone is watching your match that is an expert for five or six days in a row, there will be improvement.”
With these added initiatives, it could provide Australia’s next star player or coach with their opportunity.