Brisbane QLD, Australia, 6 January 2018 | Nathan Marino

Every Grand Slam winner had to begin somewhere; and where better to begin than in the backdrop of your local international tournament? That is the thought on the mind of many young competitors as they battle it out at the Brisbane International School Challenge this week.

Nick Kyrgios, Grigor Dimitrov, Karolina Pliskova and Queensland’s own Ash Barty aren’t the only ones who are keen to impress in the first week of the year, as schools from across the state conclude a yearlong challenge in the shadows of Pat Rafter Arena.

Marc Wittmann, the manager of the challenge, explained, “any school in the state can enter a team for regional trials”, with the idea for the finals to be held at the same time as the Brisbane International.

“The winner of the regional event qualifies for the state final where kids come here and playoff”, continued Wittmann. “We also want the kids to have the experience around the big tournament”.

Wittmann, as well as School Development Coordinators Leanne Mascall and Jenni Hakl, were keen to outline how integral the team aspect of the sport is. “The idea is to promote team tennis because tennis is always perceived as so individual. We think team tennis is important,” elaborated Wittmann.

“The team element that we have going here is the most important part so we don’t create individual, single-minded people. It grows the kids, no just as players, but as people as well,” detailed the league’s manager.

The challenge, now in its fifth year, contains three levels of competition: orange-ball, red-ball, and green-ball. Each colour notes a different step-up in ball strength as the young competitors look to bring glory to their school.

Brookfield State School has something of a history in the tournament, taking out both this year’s orange and red ball trophies. The primary school in Brisbane’s western-suburbs has also triumphed in the latter category each of the five years of the tournament’s history.

As a reward for their success in Friday’s red-ball final playoffs, Aussie no. 1 Nick Kyrgios presented the victorious players with their trophies. This, for Wittman, Mascall and Hakl, is what makes it all worthwhile. “One of the kids told me it was the best day,” recalled a beaming Wittmann. “That is why we do it, to see the look on their faces after meeting the players.”

Over 400 schools enter the annual competition, with some travelling from as far north as Cairns and as far west as Mt Isa for the finals. “A lot of money is spent by parents to get the kids down here, in some towns it will make local news for the whole week to make it possible for people to get here,” noted Wittmann. “A lot of commitment, heart, and blood is poured in.”

However, despite the fact that over four thousand kids across the state compete every year for the chance to play at the Brisbane International, the dedicated group of organisers say there’s room to grow. “Our main aim for next year is to improve the communication in the pool of people that can be informed,” stated Wittmann. “We’ve found whoever is involved loves it and we want more to love it.”

For Wittmann, Mascall and Hakl it is all about a love of tennis and getting as many people involved as possible, justifying why they can never have too many entries. “We want to foster tennis players,” concluded Wittmann, “we want the kids to get the experience of tennis with school for the first time, to fall in love with it for the rest of their lives.”

With the passionate personalities behind the tournament, there is no reason it can’t grow even more, driving the Davis Cup team of tomorrow in our own backyard. And who knows, Queensland’s next Grand Slam champion could have been playing on court 12 at the Brisbane International this very week…