You are probably too young to remember Rod Laver and Ken Rosewall, two Australian court legends that once dominated the tennis world way back in the 1960s and 1970s. Today, we have Nick Kergios and Daria Saville who are up there in the top 20 of the PTA circuit and while we all love the Australian Open every year, there does seem to be a lack of local talent, but don’t expect that to be the case forever, as young and exciting players come up the ranks.
Local tennis clubs
We are not sure why, but many small tennis clubs gave way to other sports in the past couple of decades, which led to a lack of promising young players. Things are slowly changing, however, with clubs opening up around the country and the availability of professional tennis lessons in Newcastle is a reflection of the demand for top coaches. Young tennis players now have options and like any sport, the more you play, the better you become. Schools also do their bit by promoting play on their campus courts and arranging inter-school contests and we are seeing a rise in youngsters playing tennis, particularly females.
Professional coaching
Once you start a youngster playing tennis, it is essential that they receive coaching from day one and with coaches in most Australian towns and cities, there is no shortage of qualified coaches to develop young players when they most need it. There are online solutions when it comes to booking; all you need to do is book your slot via their website and you are good to go. As a young player develops their game, the coaching becomes more intense until they are playing at state level, which is only one step from representing their country. Here is an article that looks at why women-only gyms are getting popular.
International Players
Of course, Australia has teams that play other countries and the good news is the pool is growing, giving selectors more options when it comes to selecting players for international competition. We expect the next 3-5 years to see more Australian players in the world’s top 100 so we can regain the prestige we had back in the 70s and 80s. Alexei Popyrin is currently ranked 59 in the world, with Nick Kyrgios holding position number 13, while Alex de Minaur is holding on at 15. In the women’s section, we have 3 players who are inside the top 100, namely Daria Saville, Ajla Tomljanovic and Astra Sharma.
TV coverage
More airtime is being given to tennis tournaments, which has to be good news for tennis as a whole and with lots of support, our young players can become better players. They need international experience as soon as possible and with a solid infrastructure in place, Australian tennis has a rosy future.
Sport is a healthy pastime and tennis has seen a rise in popularity in the past 5 years, which is helping more young players to get into the sport.
