SOME of the region's brightest young tennis stars are working overtime to ensure they are ready for games to resume.
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Gunnedah has been one of the hardest hit by the pandemic, as many of its rising talents have been forced to take a break.
Rising stars such as; Anna Bishop, Isabelle Moore, Aaron Osmond, Vitorio Sardinha, Cooper Wilkinson, Taya Powell and Lucy Gainsford have been forced onto the sidelines.
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Craig Louis, who coaches a number of the youngsters, said the tennis players were finding their own ways to stay sharp during the lockdown.
"There's obviously pretty strict guidelines in place around it, but Vitorio, Anna, Taya Powell and Aaron have been getting a hit in," Louis told the Leader.
"Some of those guys have been getting down and having a hit every day to try and keep their game at the highest level, so when everything comes back online, they are good to go.
"Those better players are doing all they can to find a court to get their drills in."
Despite most major tennis events being held in the summer months, the young guns have already missed out on some landmark tournaments.
"It is hard because Anna, Taya and Vitorio all qualified for the clay court national titles in Canberra, which was meant to be held this month," Louis said.
"That event had to be postponed and can be rescheduled for later in the year, but there is other things happening then, so that one is up in the air.
"In my opinion, that's a real shame because only the top 21 players in the country, per age group, get to go and it would have been Taya's first time.
"You feel for them when they have all worked really hard to get to that event and it gets cancelled."
As the state government begins to contemplate easing the restrictions in place due to coronaviurs, Louis said he was busy preparing for a return to coaching.
"There hasn't been a lot on at all and we are currently looking at doing some coaching for the start of Term 2," he said.
"We've tried to keep all of our guys going in the meantime.
"We're quite lucky that our complex here was open to one-on-one coaching and is now open to social tennis, so they can go and have a social hit.
"But right now, we are just trying to put some programs together as best we can with the restrictions in place."
Louis said all of his players had kept a "positive attitude" during the pandemic shutdown.
"I know it has been tough on them and it has been gut-wrenching to see them miss out on tournaments," he said.
"However, the break has been just what some of them needed.
"In fact, one of my students Isabelle Moore told me it's the longest break she's had from the court since the age of six and it has made her realise how much she loves it.
"I think all the kids gratitude, appreciation and love for the game will really grow from this.
"Sometimes a break from the game is just what they need."
Billy Jupp
Billy is a Senior Livestock Journalist for the Queensland Country Life based in Toowoomba. He has worked for a variety of different ACM mastheads during the past five years including the Namoi Valley Independent, Northern Daily Leader and The Land.
Billy is a Senior Livestock Journalist for the Queensland Country Life based in Toowoomba. He has worked for a variety of different ACM mastheads during the past five years including the Namoi Valley Independent, Northern Daily Leader and The Land.
