Meet the future stars of Toowoomba tennis

We shine a light on the future stars of tennis in the Garden City. Check out which young guns have been making their mark here.

Jeffrey Strydom in action in Brisbane. Picture: Jason O'Brien

The Australian Open may be in the rearview mirror, but there is still an endless line of Australian talents making their mark on the tennis scene.

We have shone a light on just a few of the rising stars of tennis in Toowoomba.

Check out the young guns making their mark below.

Jeffrey Strydom

The 15 year-old recently moved to Toowoomba and has represented Australia in the Junior Davis Cup and competed in this year’s Australia Open junior event.

Strydom revealed his delight to compete in this year’s junior grand slam.

“It was awesome,” the teenager said.

“I got to play on Showcourt 3 so had a lot of fans come down which was unexpected.

“Because an Aussie was playing a lot came down and were cheering your name so it was a good experience.

“It was so special … it was the first time I’ve played in front of such a big crowd.”

George Maroske

Maroske began his tennis journey at the age of five and was selected in the Queensland Super 10s squad in 2024.

He is one of the young guns in the state and boasts a solid technique and impressive attitude towards the game.

Sophie and Harry Von Blanckensee

Sophie has shown plenty of talent and recently made the Darling Downs school side which competes in the state titles.

She has shown impressive skills and determination and has a bright future ahead of her.

Harry has been in impressive form in recent years.

He was a member of the Toowoomba Anglican School orange ball team which finished seventh at the Queensland Primary School State Championships this year.

Harry received the Olivia Gadeki award at Tennis South Region super JDS camp and has placed and won several competitions over the last few years.

Hayden Barron

Barron, eight, began his tennis journey as a five year old and has significantly developed over recent years, participating in orange ball tournaments throughout 2024 and qualifying for the red ball state competition in Brisbane 2023 and 2024.

Freddy Bunn

Bunn took up tennis after moving to Toowoomba Anglican School as a seven year old and has not looked back.

He has competed in various different tournaments and boasts an impressive forehand which he loves to utilise.

Eddie Roberts

Roberts has several years of tennis experience under his belt.

The 12 year old was in fine form last year, winning the Goondiwindi Junior Development Series tournament.

Charlie Farrell

The grade seven student has been competing for 18 months and already has several impressive achievements.

In 2024, Farrell was the Tara U17 tier 2 singles runner up and U17 tier one doubles champion, the JDS Chinchilla U17 tier 2 singles champion and the JT junior 125 Samford junior championships U12 tier 2 runner up.

Farrell’s strong form continued this year, claiming an under-12 Shaw Park junior championship.

The Glennie School tennis star Evie Watson

Evie Watson

Watson is a talented young tennis player who began honing her skills at just five years old.

She has represented Glennie at the Queensland Primary Tennis Championships and is a leader of the Tennis program at Glennie.

She is a sport all-rounder with a bright future ahead.

The Glennie School tennis player Addison Harth.

Addison Harth

Harth has been training and playing tennis for many years whilst at Glennie, proudly representing the School at both Andrews Cup and the Queensland Primary Tennis Championships.

Committed to her ongoing development on the court, she is always supportive and encouraging towards younger students who are just beginning their training.

As she prepares to begin her senior schooling next year, Addison looks forward to a year of continued growth and improvement in her tennis in 2025.

Vismaya Gowda

Gowda has been playing tennis since she was seven years old.

She was the under 11 champion in the regional tournaments held in Warwick and Goondiwindi in 2024.

Will Jackson

Jackson, 14, started tennis when he was nine years old and living in Fiji.

He has been a boarder at TAS since 2022.

Jackson has had some success including wins and runner up performances at Junior Development Series events around the region and he also represented the South Region at the ‘Battle of the Sands’ tournament in 2024.

Charlie Elliott

Elliott commenced tennis lessons at TAS in prep.

He has enjoyed private lessons, group lessons, match play and strength and conditioning training.

Tennis has given Charlie many opportunities.

He has been fortunate enough to participate in JDS competitions from Goondiwindi to Brisbane.

He was lucky enough to meet Ash Barty when she visited Toowoomba.

Charlie has played in the red ball, orange ball and most recently the Brisbane International Primary Schools Cup green ball State finals and thoroughly enjoyed walking out on Pat Rafter arena.