Darwin, 8 September 2018 | Tennis Australia

The National Indigenous Tennis Carnival is coming to a close tomorrow, with finals for the 14-and-under and 14-and-over tournaments taking place at the Darwin International Tennis Centre from 9.00 am ACST.

Evonne Goolagong Cawley will be on-site tomorrow to present the champions with their trophies, and also select the first ever winner of the Evonne Goolagong Cawley Medal of Excellence which will be given to one participant who displays excellence, integrity and leadership on-and-off court at the event.

Former North Melbourne and Port Adelaide AFL player Daniel Motlop visited the carnival today, Saturday 8 September to run a football clinic for participants.

“Growing up I was just like these kids, running around at a carnival, participating in all sports and trying to achieve my dreams,” Motlop said.

“We’ve got the legendary Evonne Goolagong Cawley here to inspire the kids and hopefully we can have another Indigenous champion come through here.”

Tennis Australia Director of Participation Paul Cammack was also on-site at the inaugural carnival and discussed the importance of cultural diversity and leadership in sport.

“This has been a sensational first National Indigenous Tennis Carnival. The objective of the carnival is not only to highlight tennis but to highlight Indigenous culture.

“It’s really important to incorporate the cultural and leadership elements so that kids feel empowered, proud of who they are, and to showcase what they can achieve and what opportunities are out there.”

“We want to ensure that we continue to provide opportunities for Indigenous youth to be able to access and play tennis. So we wanted to create a pinnacle event at the top of the pathway that drives participation and tennis at all levels for the Indigenous community.”

In tennis news, rounding out the semifinals results we had Trent Marlin (NSW) defeat Charlie Pade (NSW) and Toby Radford (VIC) defeat Isaac King (QLD) in the 14-and-over boys’; Kaecia Beattie (NSW) defeat Laquisa Khan (NSW) and Mikayla Zahirovic (QLD) defeat Charlotte Bohen (QLD) in the 14-and-over girls’; Asia Khan (NSW) defeat Ruby Pade (NSW) and Sophie Foster (NSW) defeat Keeral Mckenzie (SA) in the 14-and-under girls’; and Quincy Khan (NSW) defeat Leon Zammit (NT) and Samuel Fisher-Bullen (WA) defeat Brady Forde (VIC) in the 14-and-under boys’.

Girls 14-and-over finalist Mikaela Zahirovic, 15,  from Townsville, Queensland was thrilled to secure her spot in the final.

“It’s been a really good experience so far, to get to the final is something that I’m really excited about”

“The competition has been really tough, I’ve come up against some really good NSW and NT players who have pushed me right til the end”

“For the final I’m just hoping to play my game, keep my style consistent and hopefully I’ll come away with a win”