Brisbane, 4 December 2023 | tennis.com.au

Australia’s best high school teams converged on Brisbane to compete in the Gallipoli Youth Cup.

The Gallipoli Youth Cup was first held in 2008 as a Junior ITF event and now incorporates the National High School Team Championships in collaboration with Youth of Tomorrow. By joining forces with Youth of Tomorrow and their Future Fit program, primary schools will be provided the opportunity to participate the Future Fit program, and experience the National High School Championships.

The 2023 event saw 18 secondary schools with the country’s top-performing girls’ and boys’ teams all vying for the respective championship titles.

Queensland’s Brisbane Boys’ College were crowned champions for the boys, contesting one of the closest finals in years, defeating The McDonald College by a margin of a single game. This is the third national title for Brisbane Boys’ College since the event’s inception in 1996.

New South Wales school, Meriden, once again proved they are one of the country’s powerhouses in schoolgirls tennis, defeating Marryatville High School in the girls’ championship to claim their ninth National championship and retaining the cup for another year.

“It’s fantastic to see the Gallipoli Youth Cup now aligned with Australia’s National High School Championships, it really takes the championships to the next level encouraging high-quality competitive tennis, with the team tennis environment encouraging aligned values of mateship and educational opportunities,” Tournament Director Joel Goodwin said.

“The benefits of school team tennis extend beyond the court, and we’re pleased to play a part in supporting the physical, social, emotional and mental health and wellbeing of Australian secondary school students, whilst also providing competitive playing opportunities and ongoing involvement in the sport,” Goodwin said.

The Gallipoli Youth Cup is supported by Pro IT, the Military shop and Tennis Australia.

Queensland primary schools welcomed back the Schools Future Fit Program, a national youth empowerment education program delivered by Youth of Tomorrow in partnership with Australian Tennis Foundation and Tennis Queensland

This year, up to 600 primary school students from low socio-economic areas within South East Queensland and Brisbane attended the program.

“Australian Tennis Foundation (ATF) is committed providing opportunities for disadvantaged young people to play and belong through tennis.  “It was wonderful to see the Queensland Tennis Centre filled with young people having a great day, many experiencing tennis for the first time,”  said Vicki Reid, ATF Executive Director.

Tennis Legend and Patron Pat Cash was excited to be bringing the event back to Queensland.

“The pandemic impacted student access to our national program, so it’s great to see the program being returned to Queensland. It’s fantastic to see record student numbers and new schools at this year’s Schools Future Fit Program,” Cash said.

“We’re excited to be back at Pat Rafter Arena. The Schools Future Fit Program will be made available to many more schools next year,” Youth of Tomorrow’s Chief Executive Officer Umit Oraloglu said.

“Being able to talk to and share the importance of ANZAC Day with 600 school students ensures the legacy of our current and ex-serving Defence members continues to live on in our future generation,” Kerry Gallagher, RSL Queensland South Eastern District President.

2023 Champions

Brisbane Boys College

Alex Despoja
Rohan Hazratwala
Ani Nallaparaju
William Genberg
Kaylen Timbrell
Carter Lennon

Meriden School

Giselle Guillen
Soha Singh
Jizelle Sibai
Miranda Xu
Nina Krecklenberg
Gabriela Garipova