Brisbane QLD, Australia, 1 February 2018 | Tennis Queensland

It’s going to be the weekend of a lifetime for students from Redland District Special School, who are heading on court at the Queensland Tennis Centre during the Davis Cup by BNP Paribas in Brisbane.

But for year 7 and 6 students Seth and Eloise, today was a day they’ll never forget, taking part in the official draw for the event to be played between Australia and Germany.

The pair were flag bearers for the teams, leading them into the official draw ceremony and putting their names on the draw board.

“They were very excited when I spoke to them [about taking part] at school,” said Andrew Thompson principal of Redland District Special School.

“First I spoke to them about what they knew about tennis, and they knew you get a racquet and you hit a ball, they’ve played tennis, but they were very excited, when we asked their favourite players they rattled off a few names.”

Today, they met the likes of world No. 4 Alexander Sverev, Nick Kyrgios, Alex de Minaur and John Millman.

Tomorrow, more students from the special school are playing in a competition on the outside courts of the Queensland Tennis Centre prior to the Davis Cup tie. They’ll also open proceedings on Pat Rafter Arena.

“A lot of the kids they see that sort thing on TV but they never think of participating or being part of it,” said Mr Thompson.

“To be able to have a sport they can engage in – they’re not going to be great tennis players – but to have something they can do and it brings a smile to their face.

“The important thing is there’s not a lot of opportunities for our kids currently to participate in sport outside of school, but that’s growing. When they see can, and their kids doing what other kids are doing, and that for any parent that’s worth its weight in gold.”