How Tennis Shaped Who I Am
I never considered myself the best, but I always tried to be. As an athlete and lover of sport you watch big events, finals, in front of massive crowds wishing to be in their position one day… I wanted that to be me.
Starting around the age of 5 I would play tennis for fun with my brother. During those earlier stages, I remember begging my brother to give me a few points. Luckily my parents made sure he did… A few years later, someone told dad to put me in a competition, and that’s where the journey began.
Starting locally around the community I was pretty good. As a small kid I was beating kids double my size and winning tournaments, a great feeling for a young kid. As you begin to progress, you face different opponents, play different tournaments and have different experiences.
As soon as I ventured into state and national levels I realised I was very very average. I was now facing kids my own age and getting thrashed. They were more determined and professional. You could see a big difference between the kids mucking around before their match and the kids who were warming up, getting mentally ready… At the age of 10!!
As I got to 12, 13, 14 years old I started to grow and mature, allowing me to develop and compete with the top players. One of my fondest moments was when I just turned 14, making the semi finals of nationals for the first time, playing on the grass courts in Berri, South Australia. By this time I had great support around me, with my parents all in and great coaches and mentors helping me develop on and off the court.
Continuing to persist and try and get better, in 2019 at 16 years old I hit my highest level, making the final of the Darwin International and Fiji International. When you finally succeed, you get to take a brief moment and appreciate the journey. It feels worth it.
The biggest question I always had was: Can I be the best tennis player as well as being the best at school? Doesn’t one have to be compromised?
A coach once told me to think of it like seasons, where you can focus on one for a brief time and then when that’s over go all in on the other. “Tennis will be waiting for you when you graduate” he said.
Time Management
With so much intense training throughout the week and other priorities like school, family and friends I learnt that time was so valuable. All the time you had, had to be spent intentionally and productively. There were days and weeks where I would wake up at 5:30, train before school, attend class and then leave school early to train all afternoon, come home, shower, eat, study and be asleep by 10, ready for another day. This taught me to never lose sight of my priorities, and always make time for what truly matters.
Hard Work
I was never the most talented out of the bunch. Never. Not being the most talented meant that I had to work harder than everyone else to compete with them. Whilst they could half ass a training session, I would be out there chasing down every ball, running harder than everyone else. Yet somehow those guys were more mentally tough, could still serve bigger, hit harder and win more matches than I could. I truly believe that my talent didn’t take me very far, but my hard work and persistence did. The fight to keep going and to push was there. Therefore, to keep up with the best, I had to do all the little things right and work on those 1%ers.
Working Towards a Bigger Goal
Playing this sport and working towards a bigger goal day by day made me focused and mentally tougher. Having a goal or vision to work towards gave me a sense of purpose and reason to do the early mornings and come back each day.
The last 10+ years have been challenging, but absolutely amazing. The people I met, places I got to visit and experiences I’ve had have crafted who I am.
To all the athletes out there battling day in day out… I hope you absolutely love what you’re doing and are grateful for it.
Thanks to everyone for all the support over the years. Now onto bigger and better things.