{"id":40503,"date":"2025-01-18T06:29:52","date_gmt":"2025-01-17T19:29:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.tennis.com.au\/vic\/?p=40503"},"modified":"2025-01-18T06:55:24","modified_gmt":"2025-01-17T19:55:24","slug":"victorian-kids-shine-on-hot-shots-day","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.tennis.com.au\/vic\/news\/2025\/01\/18\/victorian-kids-shine-on-hot-shots-day","title":{"rendered":"Victorian Kids Shine on Hot Shots Day"},"content":{"rendered":"

Hot Shots Day at the Australian Open is always a highlight on the calendar, and this year was no exception. Victorian clubs from far and wide brought their Hot Shots participants to Melbourne Park for a day filled with tennis, fun, and unforgettable memories. From Kids on Court experiences to Coin Toss Kids meeting players, the day was a smash hit for little legends<\/em>.<\/p>\n

The day kicked off early, with buses arriving at Melbourne Park by 8:00 AM. Hot Shots players were granted exclusive access to the AO Ballpark, where they enjoyed a range of activities before the grounds opened to the public. Clubs from across Victoria, including Rochester, Ouyen, Koondrook, and Tatyoon,<\/strong> travelled hours to take part in the festivities, with many families attending the AO for the first time.<\/p>\n

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January 16: Photo of Hot Shot kids and their parents enjoying the AO Ballpark during the Australian Open at Melbourne Park on Thursday, January 16, 2025. Photo by TENNIS AUSTRALIA\/ LUIS ENRIQUE ASCUI<\/p><\/div>\n

Adding to the excitement, 200 lucky kids had their ground pass tickets upgraded to Rod Laver Arena to watch Alex de Minaur take on Tristen Boyer. Two Ky Valley TC participants even had the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to sit in de Minaur\u2019s player box during the match.<\/p>\n

Junior Reporters in Action:<\/h3>\n

This year\u2019s Hot Shots Day featured a special twist with junior reporters Jimmy<\/strong> (9) and Mary<\/strong> (7) from Shepparton<\/strong> joining the action. The siblings earned their spot through an inspiring journey \u2014 Jimmy had written a persuasive letter to Tennis HQ advocating for more Hot Shots clinics at his school, Bourchier Street Primary<\/strong>, which led to a stop at the school during the AO on the Road tour last year.<\/p>\n

Their duties as junior reporters were nothing short of star-studded. They interviewed Casey Dellacqua<\/strong> in a Q&A session asking the hard-hitting questions they had prepared themselves.<\/p>\n

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January 16: Photo of Casey Dellacqua at the Hot Shot events at the AO Ballpark during the Australian Open at Melbourne Park on Thursday, January 16, 2025. Photo by TENNIS AUSTRALIA\/ LUIS ENRIQUE ASCUI<\/p><\/div>\n

The duo then participated in a live cross on The Today Show<\/strong>, along with a gang of Hot Shots kids surrounding journalist Alex Cullen in a sea of blue and green.<\/p>\n

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January 16: Photo of Hot Shot kids and their parents enjoying the AO Ballpark during the Australian Open at Melbourne Park on Thursday, January 16, 2025. Photo by TENNIS AUSTRALIA\/ LUIS ENRIQUE ASCUI<\/p><\/div>\n

Next Jimmy and Mary joined the Hot Shots crews from Everton TC, Tatyoon TC, Kyvalley TC <\/strong>and Meredith TC<\/strong> in a guard of honour on John Cain Arena to welcome players Hubert Hurkacz<\/strong> and Miomir Kecmanovic<\/strong>. They even tried their hand at commentating during the Kids on Court sessions and were very impressed with the state of play.<\/p>\n

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Our reporters were then interviewed themselves by Channel Nine<\/strong> before heading back to the AO Ballpark to meet Hot Shots ambassador Ajla Tomljanovic<\/strong>\u00a0for a quick hit and an exclusive interview.<\/p>\n

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The excitement continued with a memorable coin toss on Rod Laver Arena for Alex De Minaur\u2019s<\/strong> match against Tristan Boyer<\/strong>. Mary and Jimmy were lucky enough to extend their reporting duties and attend two press conferences. The first with Iga Swiatek<\/strong> after her win against Rebccea Sramkova<\/strong>. Jimmy and Mary\u2019s questions left the current world number 2 stumped but smiling after asking how many matches she had won. Swiatek endearingly engaged with the pair, trying to do the math on her impressive career.<\/p>\n

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The second press conference was with a familiar player in Alex De Minaur after his win. De Minaur himself joked that while he approved of Jimmy\u2019s toss, he\u2019d appreciate an extra spin next time, so the toss goes his way! Their thoughtful questions allowed De Minaur the chance to speak\u00a0of his friends in tennis \u2013 being the whole Australian team, his community away from home.<\/p>\n

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Catch up on more of Jimmy and Mary’s day here<\/a><\/strong>.<\/p>\n

A Day to Remember<\/h3>\n

As a whole, Hot Shots Day encapsulated the essence of tennis \u2014 fun for all ages. From early morning bus rides to the magic of Rod Laver Arena, the day created memories that will last a lifetime.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe kids were all so excited. It will be a day they will remember for a long time,\u201d<\/em> said Kim Kachel, CEO Tennis Victoria<\/strong>. \u201cIt\u2019s amazing to see the commitment from these small towns to travel such distances to be part of this event.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

As the sun set on Melbourne Park, the smiles on the faces of the Hot Shots players said it all. Tennis Victoria and Tennis Australia\u2019s dedication to fostering the next generation of tennis players, supported by all the hard-working clubs, coaches, volunteers, community champions and parents made Hot Shots Day a truly special occasion for all involved.<\/p>\n

If you want to get involved in Hot Shots, find your local club here<\/a><\/strong>. If you\u2019re a club looking to be a Hot Shots club (and be listed on the Hots Shots Tennis website), you need either a Tennis Australia Business Member Coach at your club, or your club needs to sign up for Community Play via this link<\/a><\/strong>.<\/p>\n

And if you\u2019re already involved in Hot Shots at your local club, make sure you join the crew<\/a>!<\/strong><\/p>\n

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#VicsAtTheAO<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Hot Shots Day at the Australian Open is always a highlight on the calendar, and this year was no exception. Victorian clubs from far and wide brought their Hot Shots participants to Melbourne Park for a day filled with tennis, fun, and unforgettable memories. From Kids on Court experiences to Coin Toss Kids meeting players, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6430,"featured_media":40515,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-40503","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tennis.com.au\/vic\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/40503","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tennis.com.au\/vic\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tennis.com.au\/vic\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tennis.com.au\/vic\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/6430"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tennis.com.au\/vic\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=40503"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.tennis.com.au\/vic\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/40503\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tennis.com.au\/vic\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/40515"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tennis.com.au\/vic\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=40503"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tennis.com.au\/vic\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=40503"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tennis.com.au\/vic\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=40503"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}