By JARROD POTTER
THIS week has been a whirlwind for Berwick tennis player Yurina Shibuya – who earned a place in the ballkid ranks for the Australian Open.
From thousands of applicants, Shibuya, 15, from Berwick, made it through the training sessions and tryouts to be one of the lucky 380 ballkids for the first of 2016’s Grand Slam events.
“It’s really exciting and a good experience to meet new friends and being able to be close up to the players as well – hopefully some of my favourites like Djokovic, Federer, Nishikori and Ivanovic as well,” Shibuya said.
It’s the last time Shibuya will get to run the courts and rip open the tennis ball cans and in her final year as a ballkid she wants to be part of the finals action.
“I was really excited as this is the last year I’ll be able to do it – because of the age limit,” Shibuya said. “I love being close to the players and getting to be behind the scenes of the action and this year I want to work in finals with some of the top players on Rod Laver Arena.”
The right-hander is no stranger to the local blue court at Berwick Tennis Club either as she’s rising through the ranks of the local association.
“I play for Berwick Tennis Club and we’re going well this year as a team – we’ve gotten higher on the ladder this year in Division 13,” Shibuya said.
“I like playing on the baseline but in doubles I like to do volleys and smashes.”
She wanted to thank Tanya and the other ballkid supervisors throughout the year and her coach Allison Miller for teaching her how to play.
Berwick Tennis Club won’t just have Shibuya to support at the Open, but due to the club’s work at the Free Tennis Day, they’ve also been allotted Montenegro’s star female player Danka Kovinic as the club’s representative player in the main draw.
The club’s Free Tennis Day is on Sunday at Arch Brown Reserve from 9am to noon – for more information on the event, visit its Facebook page “Berwick Tennis Club”.
