Diego Quispe-Kim wins 2024 Toowoomba Easter Gold Cup men’s title

The 92nd Toowoomba Easter Gold Cup was contested over the long weekend with a rising young star who dreams of making a grand slam taking home the men’s trophy, while a former Australia Open competitor took out the women’s competition. Check out the full details here.

2024 Toowoomba Easter Gold Cup men's singles winner Diego Quispe-Kim.

Young tennis hotshot Diego Quispe-Kim has left his mark on the Garden City taking home the 2024 Toowoomba Easter Gold Cup men’s singles title after a dominant long weekend.

The 18 year-old, who hails from New Zealand, made the trip across the Tasman to compete in the historic event.

“I am very happy,” he said.

“It is my second time coming to these places and I like the atmosphere and the people are really nice.”

Travelling internationally has been one of the major perks of Quispe-Kim’s tennis pursuit as he has spent a decade taking on some of the brightest tennis talents in the world.

“My first time I travelled to Australia was when I was eight and then we have kept going to many different places around Asia and Fiji,” he said.

“So it was a good experience for me.”

Quispe-Kim said the cup did not come easy, as he faced strong opposition throughout the entire tournament.

“The standard is much better, from the first round they are good opponents through to the final, so it makes you concentrate,” he said.

Along with facing fierce Australian competition, Quispe-Kim said the surface was an additional challenge for him which he had to navigate.

“It was a little bit tricky because I don’t usually play on astro turf,” he said.

“So at the start of the tournament I felt a little bit uncomfortable and then each match I felt much better.

“But you shouldn’t focus on the court, you should just focus on what you can control, and what you can’t control, you cannot focus on that.”

After playing in the Australian Open Juniors last year in what was one of the highlights of his career, Quispe-Kim hopes to move to Australia this year and believes the increased competitive nature of tennis in the country will help bring out the best in him.

The chance to rub shoulders with the best players in the world as a rising star was a moment he will never forget.

“It was good because I saw all the good players around the world and I could see what they were doing, all their different routines and stuff, it was really good,” Quispe-Kim said.

On the court, his footwork is electric as he covers all, which he credits to his football background.

“You can see Rafa (Nadal), Dominic Thiem, they all can play really good soccer and that’s why they have good footwork,” Quispe-Kim said.

As a left-handed player, Quispe-Kim has looked to model his game off grand slam stars Nadal and Denis Shapovalov.

“It used to be Nadal since I was very young, but now I think I like more Shapovalov,” he said.

“He has a very nice style, very loose and he is a lefty too.”

Alicia Smith during the 2022 Toowoomba Easter Gold Cup. Picture: Kevin Farmer

Brisbane star eager to return to Australia Open

Brisbane gun Alicia Smith has her sights set on returning to a grand slam and her road back received a major boost during the Gold Cup as she took out the women’s singles and doubles tournaments.

“I actually played some really good tennis over the weekend which has given me a fair bit of confidence because I am planning to go overseas soon,” she said.

“It is always a really good tournament and I am just glad I got the win.”

After competing in the 2017 Australian Open alongside Destanee Aiava in what was the highlight of her career, Smith is hard at work to return to the heights of the grand slams.

“I am planning one more money tournament in Melbourne, depending how that goes, I am trying to get over to Korea in May for three weeks and also Thailand for three weeks in July,” she said.

“I am close to my career-high doubles ranking at the moment so I am really trying to achieve a carer-high in doubles this year as well as singles.

“My career-high for singles was about 600 before Covid hit so I would really like to get back to that level.

“I think at the moment my doubles will let me get back to the slams.

“I have also always struggled financially so trying to use that doubles avenue to get my singles ranking up will be the key but I am going to try and get enough money behind me this year and play more consistently to hopefully get those rankings up.”

While Smith competes in both doubles and singles, it is the doubles side of her game where she has excelled the most and she recently won a doubles tournament in Mildura.

“I was originally from Tamworth in New South Wales growing up and I think being a country girl, we were introduced to doubles and mixed quite early,” she said.

“So I have always understood the game and seen the doubles court a lot quicker than I have in singles and I think having a partner on court, I have always found it that bit more fun as well.”

She has proven herself to be a versatile talent, as she can adapt between the two major formats of the game comfortably.

“I think for me since I have been on tour for a little bit now you kind of get used to it quite quickly but it does take a little bit to reset and get your mind round crossing on the net and all that sort of stuff.