By Scoop Malinowski
Status: ATP 103.
Ht 6-0 Wt: 164
DOB: February 26, 2001 In: Perth, Australia
First Tennis Memory: Playing in the backyard of my house against the wall. My dad (Peter) was a tennis coach. He put the racquet in my hand. I used to hit against the wall in my backyard and eventually started putting lines on the pavement. I was four years old.
Tennis Inspirations: For me, my favorite player has always been Jo-Wilfried Tsonga. Growing up, I watched a lot of Nadal. Just his fighting spirit was pretty cool. Loved how Jo-Wilfried played tennis, super aggressive, came to net, entertained the crowds pretty well.
Current Car: Mini Cooper (navy blue). Second-hand from… there’s a masseuse in Brisbane, she sold it to me for a very generous price. I think I’ll hold on to it until it conks out.
Last Book Read: Lost And Found. About not being so caught up in things.
First Famous Player You Met Or Encountered: Was… wooof… maybe,,, I think Lleyton Hewitt and Sam Groth. I went to watch Davis Cup in Perth. Maybe Kyrgios as well. Those three were playing.
Greatest Sports Moment: Probably winning my first Challenger, something I worked really hard towards. A little bit of relief I think. Having put in so much hard work, having some tough results… getting that was pretty cool.
Most Painful Moment: Probably losing second round qualifying Wimbledon (2025 to Benjamin Hassan 67 36). Somewhere I really wanted to do well. Yeah, that was a pretty tough loss. Try to bounce back as best as I can.
Best You Ever Felt On Court: Played that Italian guy start of the year – Jannik Sinner – the first set there (at AO 2R after beating Taro Daniel in four sets) was pretty good (won it 64 then 46 16 36). Pretty happy with the way I played that day. Yeah, obviously I came up a loser but first set really showed some of the tennis I can play.
Funny Tennis Memory: Most days I’m laughing on the court, whether its shanks or net tapes or foot fault calls non stop, the tennis Tour is full of laughing. So it’s always something.
Strangest Match: Played a junior match in Traralagon just before Australian Open and had three rain delays and a third set tiebreaker. I lost.
Favorite Ice Cream Flavor: Coffee or tiramisu.
Favorite Artist: Russ.
Why Do You Love Tennis: I think the challenges are pretty awesome. Just trying to figure your opponent out. Maximize what you have on the day. Getting to travel the world is pretty cool too. Spend a lot of days doing a lot of drills, getting to hit a lot of balls. The benefits of getting to travel and meet a lot of new people is pretty cool.
Favorite Sport Outside Tennis: Soccer.
People Qualities Most Admired: Honesty. And hard working. Put in the hard work. And if they’re kind, it’s awesome.
AO · ATP · Jannik Sinner · Jo-Wilfried Tsonga · Tristan Schoolkate
