Australian Emilie Chen and Korean Wonmin Kim were crowned the Australian Open Asia-Pacific Elite 14 & Under champions on Friday at Melbourne Park.
In the third instalment of the tournament, 16 players from 13 countries participated at the event, as some of tomorrow’s stars tested their skills against one another.
“I think it is a great opportunity for those people from the smaller nations to really gauge where their level of tennis is at,” Tournament Director David Boyes said on the benefits of the tournament.
“It may be the first time other than possibly some Oceania-specific ITF events that they’ve had the chance to compete against players from all around the world.”
Assistant Minister for Foreign Affairs, Tim Watts, was in attendance to present the winners with their trophies.
“It’s an incredible opportunity for these young players from across the Asia Pacific to play on the same courts as their heroes at the Australian Open,” Watts said.
“You never know when you might see these young players in the main draw at the Australian Open.”
In her first Australian Open Asia-Pacific Elite 14 & Under tournament, girls' champion Chen had a surreal experience.
“I’ve never played during the Australian Open, it’s pretty crazy,” Chen said about the event.
“I was playing yesterday in my quarterfinal and (Jannik) Sinner was practicing on the court next to me and I was like ‘wow’.”
For boys' champion Kim, events like these inspire him to play at the elite level.
“It’s really cool,” Kim on playing during the Australian Open.
“I want to play more because of that and become a better player.”