By Jonty Ralphsmith
Australian professional tennis player Storm Hunter visited a group of emerging young talent at the Pakenham Regional Tennis Centre on Sunday.
A Wimbledon doubles finalist, Hunter finished 2023 as Australia’s top-ranked doubles player and sat just outside the top 100 singles players in the world before suffering an Achilles rupture.
The 30-year-old’s bright outlook during the difficult period has aided her time on the sidelines, and she offered an insight into her mindset to the juniors.
“She had a chat to the kids and families about resilience and working hard through adversity and how to move through it when things aren’t going your way,” Pakenham Regional Tennis Centre’s Chris Millidonis said.
“The feedback from families was really positive.
“Having someone of her calibre was amazing.
“Everyone appreciated her coming down and speaking so openly and the kids will take a lot out of it given her profile.”
The event was organised through the Berwick District Tennis Association, with Hunter speaking at the Association Junior Pennant (AJP) Blockbuster, which was hosted by Pakenham on Sunday.
The AJP is organised to enable kids at the pinnacle of their age bracket to face off against other players of similar age and ability.
It is an important competition given most top tier young players would regularly need to play opponents significantly older than them to face a similar standard.
Hunter’s attendance is designed to help those stronger players reach their potential and navigate the adversity that will come their way.
RESULTS – AJP 12/UNDER BLOCKBUSTER ROUND
12B Boys – North Eastern Junior TA 2 3:31 – 4 7:56 BDTA
12A Boys – North Eastern Junior TA 5 8:57 – 1 2:32 Bayside-Moorabbin
12B Boys – Bayside-Moorabbin 5 9:60 – 1 1:2 North Suburban Junior TA
12A Girls – Eastern Region Tennis 1 1:20 – 5 9:62 Western Region TA
12B Girls – North Suburban Junior TA 1 3:40 – 5 7:60 BDTA
12B Girls – Eastern Region Tennis 0 0:19 – 6 10:65 Peninsula TA Flames
Meanwhile, the West Gippsland Tennis Association (WGTA) continued on Saturday, with a full results recap below.
Bunyip (Chris Millidonis, Luke Sankey) two rubbers, five sets, 36 games defeat Beaconsfield (Craig Sankey and Andrew Peart) one rubber, two sets, 30 games.
Drouin (Tim Bloye, Josh Bloye) two rubbers, four sets, 32 games, defeat Officer (Quentin Fitzsimmons, Tom Orr) one rubber, two sets, 22 games.
Pakenham (Francis Francette, Samantha Merry) two rubbers, four sets, 42 games defeat Pakenham (Giselle De Bartolo, Renee Tsongas, Ronald Leo, Zac Smith) one rubber, four sets, 40 games.
Officer (Troy Haysham-Weidner, Glenn Hobson, Dylan Pettigrew) two rubbers, five sets, 45 games defeat Drouin (Nick Pratt, Lachie Pitman) one rubber, four sets, 45 game.
