On Sunday 29 May, Tennis Victoria hosted our first AO First Nations Ballkid trial with the Tennis Australia Ballkid team. The afternoon also included an on court session with Tennis Australia Talent Programs Coach Genevieve Lorbergs, that will see participants selected for the Victorian Team travelling to the National Indigenous Tennis Carnival in August in Darwin.
Players travelled from as far as Castlemaine, Swan Hill and Alice Springs to be a part of the AO2023 First Nations Ballkid program, after a successful pilot of the program at AO2022. So successful in fact, that Rhys Bergman and Lewis Murray have returned for their second year involved in the program.
Players were put through their paces as coach Gen encouraged everyone to give it there all at the first Vic Team selection for the National Indigenous Tennis Carnival. Performance players and green ball athletes will form the Victorian team heading to Darwin from the 11 – 14 August for a celebration of culture and tennis.
“After a two year hiatus, it is great to have the National Indigenous Tennis Carnival back in 2022” said Tennis Victoria Inclusion Lead, Danni Lowerson. “The last carnival in 2019 was an incredible celebration that saw Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander players from all over Australia come together to experience culture, and have some fun playing tennis. We’re excited to build a team of great people for this year and am sure they will create some incredible memories in August”.
If you would like more information about the AO2023 First Nations Ballkid program or the National Indigenous Tennis Carnival, please contact [email protected].
You can also head to our Flickr account here to view all the photos from the day!
If you missed out on this round of ballkid trials, please let us know and our Inclusion team will be in touch as soon as possible.
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