Left: After a stint on the professional tennis tour, Lisa D’Amelio is now focusing on coaching at Casey Tennis Centre and Pearcedale Tennis Club, and her work as a physical education teacher at Noble Park Secondary College. Picture: Meagan Rogers.By Marc McGowan
THE public generally associates tennis professionals with money and fame, but underneath the perceptions are the ‘real’ players.
There you will find the athletes who have played for just as long as those at the top, but have not quite been able to take the next step.
There are 1168 female professional tennis players with a world ranking, and an infinite number of others are attempting to do just that.
Yet only about 100 of these individuals will make a genuine living out of the sport.
Lisa D’Amelio, who has lived in Cranbourne for the majority of her life, was one of the casualties of the professional system this year.
Ever since starting at Endeavour Hills Tennis Club as a junior, D’Amelio, 25, aspired to make a name for herself in the game she loved.
That dream came to an end in March when the financial struggles finally took their toll.
“I couldn’t make a living from it, and, as much as I enjoyed playing, I had to stop,” the right-hander said.
“Tennis means a lot to me. It’s a good way to meet people, stay fit, and it’s given me the opportunity to travel – I’m pretty grateful to it.”
D’Amelio, who reached a career-high world ranking of 363 last year, competed through April knowing she was going to retire, and it was a rewarding experience.
“I played a couple more after (I had made the decision) and it was fun. I really enjoyed it because I knew that was it and there was no pressure,” she said.
“With the last match, I thought it would be pretty sad, but I knew it was time. I was just happy to play. It was a good feeling in the end.”
The emotional rollercoaster that is the professional tour circuit is one only the players truly understand.
“Going through day to day, a lot depends on whether you win or lose. If you’re winning, the feeling is good, but if you lose a couple of weeks in a row, it’s tough,” D’Amelio said.
“You have got to keep going around to tournaments and there is not much of a chance to see the places. You are pretty much there for tennis.”
Ultimately, D’Amelio’s decision to leave the tour was a relatively simple one.
“You are used to playing all of your life, but when I didn’t want to train as hard any more, as soon as it wasn’t my first priority, I just stopped and decided to look at everything else I was missing out on,” she said.
D’Amelio chose to undertake a Bachelor of Science in physical education and health at Eastern Michigan University after leaving school, and the four years she spent in the United States have proven to be time well spent.
“That was best thing I ever did,” she said. “At that point, I wasn’t good enough to play on the tour and was pretty good at school, so I thought it was a good way to keep playing and get an education.”
D’Amelio is now a physical education teacher at Noble Park Secondary College and has ambitions of becoming involved in the tennis program at Haileybury College in Keysborough.
She also coaches three nights a week at Casey Tennis Centre and Pearcedale Tennis Club, and will play State Grade pennant for Kooyong next season.
Now that D’Amelio has had time to reflect on her professional tour experiences, she is in no doubt as to what she will take from it.
“Playing in a few finals, especially in the little towns in Japan where the people got really into it, were highlights, but in general, travelling on my own, I worked with so many other players,” she said.
“They’re what I miss the most. I miss competing, but it’s strange because I remember the people more than my tennis matches.”
