Australia’s top junior tennis players have been given a chance to experience life as an elite athlete in training at Australian Institute of Sport in Canberra recently.

Eleven athletes joined Tennis Australia’s Junior National Academy (NA) High Performance Training Camp which is part of a national development pathway, helping to identify and develop the nation’s best playing and coaching talent.

Talented junior players taking part in the Tennis Australia’s (TA) training camp at the AIS supported by Australian Davis Cup Tennis Foundation included:

Boys

• Bradley Mousley
• Jordan Smith
• Matthew Tanza
• Harry Bouchier
• Ben Dallinger
• Mitchell Pritchard

Girls

• Lyann Hoang
• Isabella Beischer
• Brigitte Beck
• Annabella Andriopolous
• Morgan Brand

TA’s National Academy Manager Geoff Quinlan says the national training camp provides access to leading coaching and sport science expertise and world-class training facilities at the AIS, including newly-constructed clay courts modelled on the French Open surface.

‘This national training camp is helping to accelerate and progress the development of our best playing and coaching talent in the Institute’s high performance training environment,’ Quinlan.

‘It provides an opportunity for junior tennis players and their coaches gained valuable experience in the Institute’s elite training environment as well as learning from professional athletes across a range of AIS sports.’   

The young tennis players were put through a range of intensive skills and fitness to assess their ability and potential in making the transition to elite competition including: 

• technical analysis of players conducted by AIS and NA coaching and biomechanics staff
• physiological load testing through competition and training drills 
• physical and perceptual motor skill benchmarking run by AIS skills acquisition allowing for comparison with peers. 

Head coaches of the AIS Tennis program and NA are working together through a collaborative approach to support the training and development of Australia’s tennis talent.