Consider this: you’re eight years old, just starting out on your tennis journey, and Coach tells you that you and your buddies have won selection to play on court at the Brisbane International!
For any budding junior tennis star this would be a dream come true, which is exactly what it was this month for six members of the Hot Shots squad at Tewantin Tennis Club. Coach and former pro Pete Taylor said the six lucky kids were still over the moon after their Kids On Court session.
Says Pete: “You have to go into a ballot for the honour and our Orange Ball (eight to 10 years old) squad in the primary school Hot Shots program was lucky enough to be selected. What that means is you are given 15 minutes between matches to show the audience what you’ve learned, going through drills, practicing technique, then rallying and finally playing for points. We got super lucky because they put us on Show Court 1, which is really good, and we were on before the first match of the day, featuring rising star Rinky Hijikata, so we had a big audience.”
The Hot Shots apparently had nerves of steel as the MC announced them each by name, and the crowd cheered as they moved into their drills. After rallying and playing their hearts out for points, they were given another rousing ovation, and then, in another stroke of luck, instead of being sent back to their parents they were all led into the tunnel leading to the inner sanctum of Pat Rafter Arena, star spotting as they passed the players’ gym and physio tables. The luck continued as they were then allowed to have two representatives at the coin flip, with Aria Jackson flipping the coin for eventual women’s champion Elena Rybakina for her encounter with Elise Mertens, while Leo Taylor got to flip for Rinky Hijikata and Thomas Machac.
Next the Hot Shots took their seats to watch Rinky take out Machac in straight sets. What a day! Says Pete: “It’s a two-hour drive for 15 minutes of fame, so we have to thank the parents for making it happen, but it’s so worth it! Our son Leo came home and hit on the garage wall for three days straight! He’s seen what it’s like to be in an arena with a crowd watching you, and now he’s pumped. I know it’s the same for the others. It’s inspired them all.”
Footnote: It’s been a big summer so far for Pete Taylor too, just finishing his first year as head coach at the Tewantin club and completing a year-long Master Club Professional Coach qualification course, the highest qualification Tennis Australia offers which comes with a management and leadership diploma from Deakin University. Well done, Pete.
