By KATHRYN BERMINGHAM
JACKSON Bruce-Tennant is a tennis ace with a bright future and a busy summer ahead.
The Belgrave Heights Christian School student has been selected as a ballkid for the 2015 Australian Open.
A member of the Montrose Tennis Club, Jackson had to attend level one and two trials and then four training squad sessions before he was chosen through a process of elimination earlier this year.
Tennis Australia selected 380 young tennis players to be involved in the tournament.
Jackson said he was excited about the opportunity to work at one of the biggest tennis tournaments on the tour, and that he was looking forward to testing his skills.
“To be a ballkid, you need good co-ordination but you also need to be able to concentrate for long periods of time.
“It will be amazing to work with some of the best tennis players in the world.”
Jackson, whose tennis idol is Rafael Nadal, hopes to follow in the footsteps of the greats one day. Since he was six years old, he’s been coached by Dean Barclay and has seen much success in local and national tennis tournaments. However, he says his new role as ballkid does bring with it some new skills.
“Tennis is usually an individual sport, so this will be a good chance to work in a team. It’s a lot about working together and communicating on the court.”
From 6-11 December, he will compete in the Boys 14s Australian Tennis Championships against the 64 highest ranked 14-year-olds in the country. He will then move on to the ‘December Showdown’, where he and the other Australian Open ballkids will practise for the Australian Open, held from 19 January – 1 February, 2015. Jackson says he is looking forward to what promises to be a jam-packed summer of tennis.
“I’m excited about playing and being a ballkid. They’re really different and I’m really enjoying both.”
