TENNIS:
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Move over Angelina Jolie, we have a new movie star in waiting and she calls Gunnedah home.
Eight-year-old Anna Bishop was treated like rock star royalty after being named Tennis Australia’s ANZ Hotshot of the Month.
Complete with film crew in tow for the Tennis Australia promotion, Anna’s every move was captured.
From the family farm to the tennis court, Anna was star of the show after winning one of only 12 Hotshot awards presented this year, nation-wide.
Hotshot program manager Patrick McInerney said each winner was required to submit an entry stating why they deserved to be given the Hotshot honour.
Anna’s entry, he added, ticked all the boxes.
“There’s lots of great stories in Hotshots but we really loved Anna’s one because we could see the passion she has for tennis,” McInerney said.
“She told us how she loves her tennis, why she’s passionate about it, saying how she has to get up at quarter past five in the morning on the farm to do her chores before she comes to tennis.... we really love kids having that instilled sense of responsibility.”
Her prize package for wining Hotshot of the Month included a Tennis Hot Shots equipment pack and a VIP trip to the 2015 Australian Open in Melbourne where she will be granted behind the scenes access to the Open and the opportunity to have a hit on Rod Laver arena.
Along with the 11 other monthly nominees, Anna is also in the running for the Hotshot of the Year which features a $5000 prize, a year’s worth of free coaching and a tennis lesson with Tennis Hot Shots ambassador Alicia Molik for them and three friends at their tennis club.
McInerney said Anna typified the characteristics of the Hotshots program which involves 139,000 kids in 900 schools and 500 clubs across the country.
“She’s playing three times a week, getting up early... her dad says on the morning of tennis, she’s jumping out of bed, running out the door.
“Even with the cameras and crew around, she wants to the best she can in everything and it’s easy to work with kids like that,” McInerney added.
Off court, driving countless kilometres into town, back and forth from tennis practice, has been Anna’s parents, Carolyne and James.
Understandably, news of her award was a bit of a shock.
“They rang my wife and explained that Anna was the lucky winner,” James said.
“Anna was thrilled, she couldn’t believe it. It was something she and her mum had spoken about going down and having a look at (the Open).”
Anna, who idolises Serena Williams because she hits as hard as the boys, started tennis young at age seven.
After assurances from Gunnedah coach, Craig Louis, it wasn’t long before Anna was knee-deep in the local tennis action.
“We used to drive past the courts regularly,” James explained, “ And she went to kindergarten here in town .
“One day she said that looks like fun and mum asked if she wanted to play, which of course she said yes.
“So we came down and introduced ourselves and she’s been playing here ever since.”
The Carinya Christian School student has been playing competitively for about the last 12 months and cherishes the social aspect of the sport.
“I think she loves the camaraderie, she’s made lots of new friends and she’s a little girl who certainly likes her sport,” James said.
The local father thanked the Louis Tennis Academy for their support not only in Anna’s development but the community as a whole.
“The strength of the younger generation of players here is outstanding,” he said.
“We’ve got an incredible group of young people playing tennis at the moment and it’s a tribute to everyone involved.”