Darwin tennis tournament draws players outside the world’s top 100

ABC NEWS (Australia)

More than 30 women aspiring to be professional tennis players are competing to boost their world rankings at a tournament in Darwin this weekend. The event draws players from across the country who fall outside the world's top 100.

Transcript

00:00These young tennis players are worlds apart when it comes to their rankings but have one

00:10thing in common, big dreams.

00:13My cousins lived in a house across from the tennis courts and they started playing tennis

00:19for fun and then we started to join.

00:21My dad used to play tennis and he told me do you want to come to the court and I started

00:28playing when I was seven.

00:30Queensland's Laquisa Khan has a world ranking in the 900s while Japan's Seashore Akita is

00:38sitting at 493.

00:41While they are striving to reach the top, the sport does demand sacrifice.

00:46Normally I go by myself because manual is not really easy to travel with coach or trainer

00:55or even family.

00:57To be alone is really tough.

00:59I think one of the most challenging parts of being on tour is being away from home a lot.

01:06I did get homesick at the start of my career.

01:10Every sporting dream involves blood, sweat and tears, something athletes and their loved ones

01:16know all too well.

01:18Organisers say they are doing their best to make the experience a smooth one for competitors.

01:24The sorts of things that we do is provide transport to and from the city to this venue and then

01:30also excursions in amenities like ice bars and places to cool down.

01:36They also want these young players to have an influence on the next generation.

01:42One of the things that we do is Q&As with players so that they can talk to kids who are interested

01:46in sports and potentially becoming professional about what their journey has been like.

01:52Dream big.

01:53To enjoy the process, the ups and downs in your career and in personal life and just to have

01:59fun with it.

02:00Behind every hit and serve, a story of pursuing dreams with perseverance.

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