TWO of Gunnedah's fastest-rising tennis stars have starred at the national December Showdown in Melbourne.
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Anna Bishop and Vitorio Sardinha qualified for the tournament after putting in consistent performances throughout the year and earning Australian ranking points to qualify for this prestigious event.
Only 20 competitors from across the country qualify for the event each year.
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At the end of the five-day-long tournament, both young guns were nominated by the December Showdown team to be in the running for KIA's Most Driven award, based on the values of commitment, competition and respect.
Bishop received the respect nomination, while Vitorio claimed the commitment nomination amongst all players competing on the day.
Bishop went on to take out the most driven award for the under-14 age group.
"I was definitely just there to improve my tennis," Bishop said in a social media post.
"I took away lots of learning experiences - getting beaten by one of the top girls in Australia helped me learn a lot of new things about my game and how I could improve.
"I really just want to enjoy playing the sport."
Bishop said she was eager to take the sport as far as possible.
"I love tennis because it's given me so many opportunities for what I'm going to learn when I'm older, not in tennis, but just life in general," she said.
"My goal is to get to college - I would love to just play in the States.
"A girl from our town of Gunnedah, Gabby O'Gorman, went to college in the States, so she's someone I look up to for sure.
"I had some great people - first Craig Louis, and now Dale Martin - help me start playing tennis, and tournaments.
"So far, I've just loved the journey."
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.
