Seven Territory juniors hit the courts at National tennis Titles

They may not have come home with the gold, but Team NT came away with life-changing experiences they’ll cherish forever. Read about their tennis comp campaign.

Darcy Jennings

2 min read

July 2, 2024 - 2:59PM

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Seven of the Territory’s most promising junior teens tested their mettle last week at the 2024 Australian Teams Championships.

Held at the KDV Sport Complex on the Gold Coast, junior players from across each state and territory as well as some from across the ditch went head-to-head in a round-robin style tournament.

Each round consisted of two singles and one doubles match and the players had a chance to play against their peers at a high level and high intensity.

“Tough matches provided an opportunity to experience the level of play that must be maintained in order to compete nationally and allowed players to set goals moving forwards,” Tennis NT chief executive officer Tania Tandora said.

“All players competed to the end in each match and walked on the court each day with energy and a growth mindset.”

Team NT pictured at the 2024 Junior National Championships on the Gold Coast. Picture: Tennis Australia/Tennis NT.

A tournament that emphasises the importance of independence and a level of professionalism among juniors, the team packed their gear the night before, completed proper warm-ups and cool-downs and stretching and even took part in post-match written reflections.

“The event provides a unique opportunity to have team managers on-court during matches; this coach support facilitates live problem-solving and opportunities for coaches to help players with resetting mentally during tough moments,” Tandora explained.

“This was a challenging competition and a good lesson in resilience.

“NT players can take this experience and use it to fuel their fire for development, using what they have learnt to become stronger on and off the court.”

Talent operations manager Jess Polack said that while the experience was a tough one, she was confident it would only light the fuse for the players to continue improving their craft.

“As tough as it was, and we knew it was going to be tough, players and coaches can use the experience to fuel development moving forwards,” she said.

“All players demonstrated the Tennis NT values of ‘Considerate, Coachable, Committed and Competitive’, and should be proud of how they showed up each day, to each match.”