Melbourne, Australia, 19 September 2020 | Leigh Rogers

Lauren Phillips is an Australian television presenter, who has been part of the Channel Nine team covering the Australian Open for the past two years. Phillips also regularly features on Postcards and Weekend Today. 

In our Celebrity Match series, Phillips reveals why she loves tennis …

Tell us about your tennis experience. Have you ever played?

I’ve always loved watching tennis and played socially occasionally, but this year I have finally started some tennis coaching with a couple of girlfriends. It’s been amazing how quickly we’ve all improved. It’s also been a great form of exercise and a great social sport. Ticks all the boxes really!

What is your best shot and why?

I have spent a fair bit of time working on my backhand. It’s getting stronger, but I still need a bit of work on it’s accuracy – which is fairly important!

What is your earliest tennis memory?

Watching my brother Bo play tennis when we were younger. Bo often wore a bandana when we were kids and I’m putting that down to our love of watching Andre Agassi play when we were younger.

Do you have a favourite tennis memory?

Working as part of the broadcast team for Channel Nine for the Australian Open over the past two years has been a dream job. Interviewing some of the world’s best players is always a highlight, but chatting to tennis fans from all over the world who are about to see their favorite players battle it out on court and to see their excitement is the best thing ever.

View this post on Instagram

Table Tennis and Burgers. The perfect @australianopen preparation @k1ngkyrg1os. Catch our chat on the @thetodayshow at 8:50 tomorrow morning. @imgtalent

A post shared by Lauren Phillips (@lfizzlphillips) on Jan 18, 2020 at 1:39am PST

Who is your favourite tennis player to watch?

Like so many others, I can’t go past Roger Federer or Rafael Nadal. I’ve also always really enjoyed watching Jo-Wilfried Tsonga play. He lights up the court and is always so exciting to watch. I’ve always loved watching Serena Williams play too. Watching her win the Australian Open in 2017 and finding out after the Slam that she was two months pregnant, just showed once again what a powerhouse she is and that she can do absolutely anything.

If you could meet any player, who would it be and why?

I’ve been lucky enough to meet most of the players currently on the circuit over the past few years with work, but 12-year-old me would absolutely love to hang out with Andre Agassi. I just loved him growing up.

https://www.instagram.com/p/B7hM0HdldCn/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link

Finish these sentences …

The best part of the Australian Open is … the excitement of the fans. You cannot beat the experience of being inside the Melbourne Park precinct when there is an Aussie playing a night match at Rod Laver Arena.

Tennis is fun because … you are never too old to learn. It’s a great sport for any ability and any age.

> Check out more Celebrity Match interviews