Two Young Maltese Tennis Players Will Compete In The Australian Open Junior Championship This Weekend
Francesca Curmi and Helene Pellicano are making Team Malta proud down-under in the Australia Open Junior Championships! The two 16-year-olds are competing against 44 other players in the Girls Singles main draw, and made it through by merit of their high international rankings.
Helene Pellicano and Francesca Curmi
Francesca is currently ranked 66th in the ITF Junior world circuit, while Helene sits a few spots up, in the 50th position.
The fact that two out of the 46 main draw finalists for the prestigious competition are Maltese is actually a massive deal, especially considering that some of the competitors from big countries like Italy and Germany did not qualify.
The AO Junior Championship is recognised as one of the four Junior Grand Slam titles
Francesca will be playing her first main match tomorrow against Annerly Poulos from Australia, followed by Helene on Sunday against Adrienn Nagy from Hungary.
If they win their matches, they move closer to a shot at the finals.
Both girls have been playing tennis since the young age of four, and have dedicated their lives to training and competing.
This tournament is allowing them a shot at making a professional career in tennis a dream. Notable players to have come out of the Australian Open Juniors include Andy Roddick, who won in 2000, and Victoria Azarenka, who won in 2005.