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The region's two best young tennis players are set to take their first steps into the highly competitive world of international tennis.
Alex Hunt and Ash Calder, both 16, who play at the Tasman Tennis Centre in Richmond, are off to New Caledonia and Australia respectively for tournaments on the Junior ITF circuit.
Ash has previously played two events on the ITF Tour in New Zealand, but this is Alex's debut, and he is understandably excited about his first foray into international tennis.
He has entered the qualifying draw for the singles in Noumea, where 24 hopefuls will be whittled down to 12, who will join 36 other players in the main draw.
Alex, who attends Nelson College, said his aim was to first get through qualifying and then to win a match in the main draw, which would see him earn points that would allow him to take part in higher-ranked ITF tournaments, including the five held in New Zealand.
He is also likely to play doubles with partner Benji McGillivray, but that won't be confirmed until he arrives.
Alex is modest about his talent, which has him as the highest-ranked active senior player in Nelson, but is quietly confident of doing well at the Noumea event, which begins on Monday.
Even more remarkably, he plays with the aid of a carbon-fibre prosthetic, as he was born without his lower left arm from just below the elbow.
He can move the silver fern-emblazoned prosthetic by moving his right side, and can easily rest the ball on the fingers when serving.
"To be fair, it's probably just as easy as doing it with a normal hand," he said. "It's not really a disadvantage."
Alex said his opponents were often so focused that they did not notice the unique addition to his game, and he never used it as an excuse for not doing his best, on or off court.
It does, however, force him to play one-handed ground shots. As a youngster, he suffered because he did not have shots as powerful as those playing two-handed backhands.
However with the help of Neil McPhee, an ex-Scotland-ranked player living in the region, and his coach John Gardiner, he is gradually improving.
"As I get stronger, my backhand is getting better."
Ash – who, like Alex, is from the Wakefield area – has also been working hard on her backhand after an operation on her wrist affected her "weapon".
Next month, the Waimea College student will be travelling to Queensland to take part in two ITF events.
She was able to enter the slightly higher-ranked events because she earned a ranking point in Wellington last year. She said she was looking forward to testing herself against the different styles used by players from the Asia and Pacific regions.
"The Chinese that we usually play, they're runners. They just run – they don't have the nicest technique, but they chase everything down and just annoy you."
Ash is the number one-ranked women's player in Nelson, but she said she was expecting some challenging matches in Australia, as the level of opposition would be a big step up from under-16s.
She is unsure whether she will have to qualify for the main draw, as the first tournament is still just over three weeks away.
She will be partnering Heidi Stewart, one of New Zealand's highest-ranked juniors, in the doubles.
"It was nice of her to ask me," Ash said with a laugh
(story & photo courtesy of the Nelson Mail) |
