NICK Kyrgios’s march into the Wimbledon quarter-finals has sparked an enormous increase in tennis popularity around Mount Isa.
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The 19-year-old’s stunning performances in the past week have dominated sport discussions all over the country.
Mount Isa’s Copper City Tennis Club coach Peta Starr says Kyrgios’s showing at The Championships is all the talk.
“Nick’s strokeplay at Wimbledon has been breathtaking and exciting all at the same time,” she said.
“All the kids down at the tennis courts have been trying to mimic his shots, especially the through-the-legs one.”
Starr hopes the Canberra-born star can keep his feet on the ground and continue to improve.
“Nick’s obviously been a great talent for a while now and it’s wonderful that results are starting to go his way,” she said.
“But he has to make sure he doesn’t follow down the same path as Bernard Tomic and let it get to his head.”
Starr expects Kyrgios’s play to inspire a new breed of young children to grab a racquet and start up tennis.
“I’m sure we will see a spike in the numbers after the school holidays, both in the juniors and seniors,” she said.
“It wouldn’t surprise me if we saw a couple of former players return to the court in the near future.”
It is an exciting time for tennis in Mount Isa, with great numbers already participating throughout the club.
“This is the busiest time of year for us, because it’s too hot for most people to play tennis in the summer,” Starr said.
“All of our private lessons are currently full but we might have to figure something out if more people sign up.”
Registrations are now open for next term’s competition at the Mount Isa tennis courts.
“Nomination are coming in fast for next session, with action kicking off in week2 of the school term,” Starr said.
“It’s a great time to start playing as our Open competition kicks off in a little more than a month’s time.”
People interested in registering should call Copper City secretary Theresa Braithwaite on 0429437255.