5 January 2015 | Tennis Queensland

Sixteen lucky kids from Aspire Tennis Academy and All Champs Tennis Academy were the first Hot Shots players of the Brisbane International 2015 to take to Pat Rafter Arena today for an ANZ Tennis Hot Shots (ANZTHS) demonstration.

The kids were keen to get inside the centre and many of them were keeping their eyes open for the many professional tennis players walking the grounds – eager to get an autograph!

Coaches, Mitch Garen (Aspire) and Michael Parker (All Champs) led them onto court, all waving to the crowd of keen tennis fans. The kids played Hot Shots for seven minutes and enjoyed every moment – with their parents, family and friends watching on from the arena.

The match following on Pat Rafter Arena was Australian James Duckworth against Gilles Simon (FRA) which was a great thrill for the kids to take to the court and warm up the crowd for a big clash.

ANZ Tennis Hot Shots is just for kids. Smaller courts, lighter racquets and low compression balls that don’t bounce too high make learning tennis fun and easy for primary school-aged children. This means that kids are able to start rallying and having fun right from their first lesson!

There are three stages – Red, Orange and Green – that help to develop children’s skills and confidence. Children are taught by qualified Tennis Australia coaches and progress at their pace, moving on to the next stage when they are ready.

For further information visit www.hotshots.tennis.com.au or drop down to the Kids Zone at the Brisbane International where you too can get information on and play ANZ Tennis Hot Shots.