Strive to survive on court: film shows the pressure ball kids face to earn an Australian Open spot
Tennis Australia this week said 'Ballkids,' a 65-minute film, is set to 'lift the lid on the unsung heroes of the Australian Open.' It was filmed at the season-opening Grand Slam tournaments in 2023 and 2024 at Melbourne Park and will premiere May 3 at the Gold Coast Film Festival in Queensland state.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
44 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Canadian tennis star Auger-Aliassime derives on-court success, personal growth from Togolese roots
Next week, Montreal tennis star Felix Auger-Aliassime is set to compete in his eighth straight singles main draw at the 2025 U.S. Open Tennis Championships. But despite a lengthy list of accolades, including an Olympic bronze medal and seven singles titles on the ATP Tour, it's his community outreach in his father's home country of Togo that the tennis star wants the attention focused on. In the late 1990s, the 25-year-old Felix's father, Sam Aliassime, immigrated from the West African nation when he was around the same age as his son is right now. "You're there [in Togo and] even if you have a dream and you want it, you're stuck by the circumstances of your environment," he told CBC Sports. "And he comes to Canada, steps foot, and everything is possible here, if I work hard and I really stick to my goal." WATCH | Auger-Aliassime discusses his journey — and playing hockey with Connor McDavid: Those values were poured into Auger-Aliassime at a young age, influencing his drive to compete at the highest level of tennis. "He gave me all the right tools, to achieve that: hard work discipline, curiosity, work ethic," he said. "You can be a professional tennis player. You can win a Grand Slam. You can be the best tennis player, if you want … that deep belief that you can achieve something out of the ordinary." Following Auger-Aliassime's breakout year in 2019, he and his father sat down to plan how to give back to the community through his earned success, asking themselves: "Is there a way I can link my tennis career to something that is outside of the tennis but that also resonates with me?" Serving the youth of Togo quickly came to mind. In 2020, their money-matching program called #FAAPointsForChange was born, where Auger-Aliassime donates $5 for every point he wins in a match toward supporting education and child protection in Togo. "I can't do the math quickly now but it's a lot of points." "We've helped hundreds of kids to get a better education," he said. "Now we're going to help young adults to get a scholarship to university … We really want to help to give them a shot at higher education." WATCH | Auger-Aliassime discusses his journey — and playing hockey with Connor McDavid: Every couple years, Auger-Aliassime takes a trip to Togo to spend time with the youth, which has also expanded his perception of his father's childhood, he says. "He tells me stories as a kid but it never matches what you can see with your own eyes. My level of respect for his desire to succeed in life, and to work hard, and to be consistent with that. Going there gave me even more respect for what he's done in his life." 'Unexpected' Olympic breakthrough Last summer, Auger-Aliassime won his first Olympic medal, securing bronze at the Paris Olympics in mixed doubles alongside three-time Grand Slam tennis champion Gabby Dabrowski. "It was unexpected," he said. "It was an unbelievable week … The support I was getting from the crowd, from the people at home, for my second Olympics, was extremely special." A few months later, in November 2024, the tennis player announced his engagement to his long-time girlfriend, Nina Ghaibi. And now? It's the "little wins of every day" that keep him going. "At heart, I'm a competitor," he said. "I love the challenge, when you overcome a challenge. "The stress before a match when facing an opponent … when it goes your way and when you win, it's the best feeling." Auger-Aliassime will search for that feeling when the U.S. Open gets underway, as the marquee event runs from Aug. 18 to Sept. 8. "Winning a special tournament and the emotion you get," he said. "That's deep happiness."
Fox News
an hour ago
- Fox News
American tennis star Coco Gauff makes major change just days before US Open
Coco Gauff is making a big change before her start at the 2025 U.S. Open in New York. The American tennis star has parted ways with Matt Daly, one of her coaches, while bringing in biomechanics expert Gavin MacMillan, according to multiple reports. "Only have good things to say about Coco, enjoyed working with her," Daly told Bounces, confirming their split. Why would the 21-year-old make the switch now before the final Grand Slam of the year? The answer may have to do with her serve. Since her shocking first-round exit at Wimbledon, Gauff has struggled with her serve, which plays a tremendous factor in beating the best in the world, especially in tournaments like the U.S. Open. MacMillan has a history of fixing one of the best serves in women's tennis, as world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka used his expertise to correct that part of her game. MacMillan was spotted on the Arthur Ashe Stadium court Wednesday morning as Gauff was hitting with Elina Svitolina. "A lot of things add up, and this could be a really good relationship," ESPN's Darren Cahill told Forbes about Gauff and MacMillan. "He's very thorough. …I've spoken to him many, many times before, and the fact that he's got experience with different athletes from different sports, both male and female, he uses the new technology, he goes to the video a lot, really breaks down the biomechanics." MacMillan is the founder of Sports Science Lab, which specializes in sports performance, fitness, and physical rehabilitation. Gauff's game hasn't been completely off this year, having won the French Open back in May. But her serve has been inconsistent, and she clearly wants to get ahead of that before a tournament many across the U.S. would love to see her win again on home soil. Gauff was the 2023 champion in Flushing, Queens, but she was unable to defend her title in 2024 as she lost in the fourth round. Sabalenka went on to defeat another American, Jessica Pegula, in straight sets to claim the victory. Gauff fired her coach, Brad Gilbert, following that fourth-round exit at the U.S. Open.
CNBC
an hour ago
- CNBC
Disney's new ESPN flagship streaming app launches Thursday. Here's what we know
Disney is launching its new ESPN flagship streaming app Thursday, just in time for the football season, bringing customers the full ESPN suite in one place. The entertainment company has been working on the launch of the direct-to-consumer app — which is also named ESPN — for some time. It's designed to expand access for existing cable subscribers and give sports fans outside the traditional pay TV bundle access to all of ESPN's content. It's the first time the company is offering all of its linear TV content to customers via streaming. Here's what we know about what the app will look like and how it will work for consumers. Anyone who currently pays for ESPN through their cable service will have access to the ESPN streaming app. For everyone else, the app will come in a variety of options at sign-up. Subscribers can buy into the unlimited plan, which grants access to all of ESPN's networks, for $29.99 per month or $299.99 annually. ESPN says this plan will cover more than 47,000 live events annually, including the NCAA championships, the Australian Open, the PGA Championship and more. Users can also bundle the ESPN unlimited plan with Disney+ and Hulu for $35.99 a month, including ads, or $44.99 a month without ads. At launch, Disney will offer that same bundle at a promotional price of $29.99 per month, with ads, for the first year. There's also another bundle on the way, in October. ESPN and Fox Corp. are teaming up to offer their direct-to-consumer streaming services as a combined offering. Fox's service, called Fox One, also debuts Thursday and includes all Fox content including news and sports. It costs $19.99 a month on its own. The ESPN and Fox One bundle will be available on Oct. 2 for $39.99 per month. However, customers of the pay TV bundle will receive access to each of the streaming apps at no additional cost. Short of the ESPN unlimited offering, the company is also debuting its ESPN select tier. This plan features access to all content available on the existing ESPN+ service, including live sports streaming, a library of exclusive studio shows and original content and on-demand game replays. ESPN says this plan will cover more than 32,000 live events annually. It will cost $11.99 per month or $119.99 annually. Customers can also purchase the Disney+, Hulu and ESPN select bundle, which includes ads, for $16.99 per month, or a no-ads option for $26.99 per month. ESPN+ was the sports network's first foray into streaming, launching in 2018 as a separate app that has exclusive content outside the TV network. While it has some live game simulcasts, it's never housed the bulk of ESPN's content. ESPN+ had 24 million subscribers as of Disney's most recent earnings report. Existing ESPN+ customers will automatically become subscribers of the ESPN select plan under the new service, the company has said. Customers with existing subscriptions to the streaming bundles will be able to watch ESPN content on Disney+ alongside the other programming. ESPN's streaming service will include all of the network's live games, along with programming from ESPN2, the SEC Network and ESPN on ABC. In addition, it will feature fantasy products, new betting tie-ins, studio programming and documentaries, among other kinds of content. The network recently signed two deals to bolster its sports offerings. In early August, ESPN said it was entering a partnership with the WWE for the U.S. rights to the wrestling league's biggest events, including WrestleMania, the Royal Rumble and SummerSlam. CNBC reported ESPN will pay an average of $325 million per year for five years of rights. On Wednesday, ESPN and WWE said that deal starts immediately, earlier than previously announced. ESPN also reached a deal this month with the National Football League to acquire the NFL Network in exchange for the pro football league taking an equity stake in ESPN.
