Melbourne, Australia, 23 January 2021 | Leigh Rogers

Online fitness sessions are keeping Australian Open participants busy in hotel quarantine, thanks to former Australian pro Louise Pleming.

Pleming, who is now a high performance coach and media commentator, also runs the RALLY4EVER foundation.

During the Australian Open hotel quarantine period, the RALLY4EVER foundation is offering 14 days of virtual classes.

“We wanted to reach out to tennis players, coaches and trainers who are in quarantine and provide some support and inspiration for their mental health wellbeing,” Pleming said.

“We have some great people on board running classes including a world champion boxer, a fabulous yoga trainer from Los Angeles and one of Australia’s top lifesavers – Harries Carroll from Bondi Rescue, who is an amazing pilates instructor.”

Pleming created the RALLY4EVER foundation after a chance meeting with a homeless man four years ago. That man, who recognised Pleming while she was volunteering at a soup kitchen, invited her to play tennis.

“So a week later I met Brian, who had been living on the streets for quite a few years, and we played tennis. I saw an incredible shift in his mentality through the benefits of playing tennis and having that human connection,” Pleming explained.

The foundation, which has a mission to create an accessible and safe place for all to be more active, began running community tennis lessons in Sydney.

> READ: Pleming’s RALLY4EVER changing lives 

The widespread impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on mental health prompted the foundation to begin offering online wellbeing classes too.

The free online classes are available for all to join. To find out more about the different classes, visit the RALLY4EVER Instagram page.