The strength of Tennis in the capital has been highlighted with ACT being named as a finalist in five categories at the Australian Tennis Awards, as well as Nick Kyrgios being named a finalist for the Newcombe Medal. The ACT nominees all won their respective awards at the Tennis ACT Awards which were held in September.
Frank Calabria of Rising Star Tennis Academy at North Woden Tennis Club has been named a finalist in the Coaching Excellence Club category. Calabria provides a variety of coaching for all ages and levels, has implemented an active ANZ Tennis Hot Shots program, and been involved in the Schools Partnership Program. Calabria has actively encouraged and promoted participation in tennis in the community. Calabria was previously named a finalist at the 2012 awards for Coaching Excellence – Tennis Hot Shots.
Giralang Primary School have been named a finalist for Most Outstanding School. Giralang has demonstrated a great commitment to delivering tennis programs in line with the National Schools resource. The school implemented an ANZ Tennis Hot Shot program with the whole school participating and followed it up by starting the Play program to give all kids an extra three sessions. The school has developed strong links with their local club, Kaleen Tennis Club, and coach Nelson Parker.
The ACT Claycourt International 2017 is a finalist for the Most Outstanding Professional Tournament. The event included two Australian Pro Tour Futures ITF tournaments (USD$25,000 each) from 11-26 March 2017 at the Canberra Tennis Centre in which Marc Polmans took out back to back titles.
For the third year in a row, Emma Walter is a finalist for Excellence in Officiating. Walter has spent most of the year officiating internationally and highlights include chairing her first matches at Wimbledon, being selected as a line umpire for the US Open 2016 Men’s Final, as well as chairing matches at the Australian Open 2017. She also successfully achieved her Bronze Badge accreditation as an International Chair Umpire, and locally has been committed and dedicated to contributing to the development of officials in the ACT and nationally.
2017 ACT Walk of Fame inductee, Ros Balodis has again been nominated Most Outstanding Tennis Senior 35+ Tennis Senior. Balodis has taken out the award on two previous occasions in 2013 and 2014 and has just returned from the ITF Seniors World Championships where she led Australia to gold in the Maureen Connolley Cup and also took out the gold medal in the Women’s 55+ doubles.
Canberra’s top player, Nick Kyrgios has again been nominated for the prestigious Newcombe Medal, which he won in 2014. His win in Mexico where he defeated Novak Djokovic and Cincinnati where he overcame Rafael Nadal in the quarterfinal were two of the biggest highlights of his year. It was his performances representing Australia at Davis Cup and Team World at the inaugural Laver Cup where Kyrgios’ talent came to the fore in 2017.
Ashleigh Barty, Daria Gavrilova, John Peers and Jordan Thompson have all been nominated for the 2017 Newcombe Medal.
Australian tennis’ highest individual accolade will be awarded on Monday 27 November at the annual awards ceremony in Melbourne.
Full list of ACT finalists for the Australian Tennis Awards are as follows:
Coaching Excellence Club
Finalists: Frank Calabria (Canberra, ACT), Rufus Keown (Malvern, Vic), Helen Rice (Belair, SA)
Most Outstanding School
Finalists: Brisbane Boys’ College (Toowong, Qld), Giralang Primary School (Giralang, ACT), Riverton Primary School (Riverton, WA)
Most Outstanding Professional Tournament
Finalists: ACT Clay Court International 2017 (ACT), Hutchinson Builders Toowoomba International 2016 (Qld), Mildura Grand Tennis International 2017 (Vic)
Excellence in Officiating
Finalists: Phillip Goodman (Mill Park, Vic), Glenn Toland (Engadine NSW), Emma Walter (Swinger Hill, ACT)
Most Outstanding 35+ Tennis Senior
Finalists: Adrienne Avis (Avalon Beach, NSW), Ros Balodis (Canberra, ACT), Glenn Busby (Eltham, Vic)
Further details on all category nominations can be found here
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