Alec Braund called to play at Australian Open Juniors

Maryborough’s Alec Braund lands wild card to Australian Open Juniors after a stellar 2021 season.

Rising tennis star Alec Braund has hit a career highlight with his call up to the Australian Open Junior tournament this week.

The gun 18-year-old who grew up in Maryborough, received a wild card into the Australian Open Junior Boys Singles main draw on the back of a stellar 2021 tournament year.

Unfortunately, a broken ankle last September caused him to miss crucial match training in the lead-up to the tournament and Braund lost in round one in straight sets to Croatian teen and number 14 seed Dino Prizmic.

Alec Braund is a five-time winner of the Tennis Queensland Eddie Machin Award. Picture: Tennis Australia

But the strong right-hander still made his mark on court, serving some 190km/h serves in the match, his former coach Maryborough Tennis Centre’s Bruce Rayner said.

“It is very pleasing – we’ve had a few people from Maryborough juniors go through, Alec to continue that is really satisfying,” he said.

“It just shows you what kids from the country can do.”

Last year Braund’s efforts didn’t go unnoticed when he finished with an incredible 43-8 overall win/loss singles record after winning the Darwin J4 ITF, a runners-up title at the Gold Coast J5 and winner of the AMT University Open.

Alec Braund had a remarkable 2021 season. Picture: Tennis Australia

At 14, Braund represented Australia at the 2018 ITF World Junior Tennis Finals in the Czech Republic and won the 14/u Australian Claycourt Championships.

He is a five-time winner of the Eddie Machin Award, a Tennis Queensland accolade that recognises the best junior regional athlete of the year.

Rayner, who coached Braund from his first moments on court as a 5-year-old until he accepted a scholarship at The Southport School at the Gold Coast, said the determined player had always carried himself well on court.

“He manages himself quite well on court – he does not get overwhelmed by the situation,” Rayner said.

“He’s a good match player. When you watch Alec it’s hard to tell if he’s winning or losing – he has a good poker face.”

Alec Braund won the U14 Australian Claycourt Championships.

Braund’s mother Debra, who was courtside in Melbourne to watch her son, said while he had been disappointed with the loss, the experience had helped him focus on the upcoming year.

“This was his first tournament coming back from injury – he felt disappointed in himself because he wanted to do better – but he hasn’t played a lot of matches because of his injury,” she said.

“It was a good experience – it’s made him hungry for more – it’s made him want to pursue it.”

As part of that journey, Braund has accepted a scholarship to Bond University where he will balance training full-time at the KDV Sports Centre with part time study in an exercise and sports science degree.