By RUSSELL BENNETT
NARRE Warren tennis sensation Destanee Aiava will be forever linked to one of the sport’s shooting stars after being named Female Junior Athlete of the Year at the recent Newcombe Medal night.
Wimbledon quarter-finalist Nick Kyrgios became the youngest ever recipient of the Newcombe Medal at Tennis Australia’s night of nights, with the 19-year-old hard hitter joining an honour roll including Lleyton Hewitt and three-time winner Samantha Stosur.
Aiava, still just 14-years-old, was named Female Junior Athlete of the Year while one of Kyrgios’ Davis Cup team-mates, 18-year-old Thanasi Kokkinakis, was named Male Junior Athlete of the Year.
Aiava’s award marks just the latest step in her already meteoric rise. She was selected earlier this year in Australia’s Junior Fed Cup team, which is currently taking on the best youngsters from around the world in Mexico.
Following an extended training block in 2013, Destanee started the new calendar year off with a bang – reaching the semi-finals at the Traralgon Junior International before remarkably reaching the third round of the Australian Junior Open at Melbourne Park in her first attempt at her home Grand Slam event.
While Destanee’s incredible physical fitness is a major asset, she describes her mental strength as the biggest key.
“That side is just as strong as the physical for me,“ she said from her father Mark’s Institute of Athletic Performance in Hallam earlier this year.
And mum Rosie agrees.
“They both go hand-in-hand – her coach changed her game about a year ago to just improve the base of it and work on a few technical things like getting her timing right,“ she added.
Destanee is coached by Andrea Stoltenberg – wife of former Australian world number 19 Jason and herself a former WTA tennis professional.
The pair has long established a reputation as the best nurturers of young tennis talent anywhere in the country and Destanee is their star pupil.
The youngster is already known for her tireless work ethic and drive to succeed.
When the News first spoke with her in 2012, she explained that she pinned a list of goals on the fridge and ticked them off one-by-one as she accomplished them.
On that list with a bullet – “Become world number one“.
