Brisbane, Australia, 21 October 2022 | Leigh Rogers
Philip Sekulic is one of the brightest young prospects in Australian tennis.
The 19-year-old achieved a career-high junior ranking of world No.22 and was named Male Junior Athlete of the Year at the 2021 Australian Tennis Awards.
Sekulic is now making his mark on the professional tour. He scored his first Grand Slam-level win in Australian Open 2022 qualifying and after progressing to the biggest singles final of his career at an Australian Pro Tour event in Cairns this month, currently sits at a career-high ranking of No.543.
In our series profiling Tennis Australia’s National Tennis Academy athletes, Sekulic outlines his future goals and shares some of his biggest lessons …
Tell us about your start in tennis. How old were you when you started playing?
I started playing tennis when I was three. There was a new club (Morningside Tennis Centre in Brisbane) opening up, so my parents decided that I should go and just try tennis. I was pretty good, so I just kept playing.
What do you enjoy most about tennis?
I like to compete and I like to play in front of people. I find it pretty fun.
What are your tennis goals?
My goal in my career is to become a top 100-ranked tennis player.
You had a successful junior career and competed at all the junior Grand Slams. Tell us about those experiences.
Playing the junior Grand Slams was a great opportunity and a great experience. The best juniors in the world play, so it was really cool and fun.
Do you have a favourite Grand Slam tournament?
My favourite to play was the Australian Open, because of the Aussie crowd support. The crowd was really good to play in front of.
You competed in the Australian Open 2022 men’s qualifying singles competition. Can you tell us how you felt about that experience?
I was pretty excited, but also nervous. But I think I played pretty well, so I’m pretty happy with how I went.
To reach the second round as a No.986-ranked wildcard, you must have been really proud of that result?
It was great. I’m just really thankful for all the support from my coaches and my parents, who were there watching me play. It was a good moment.
Philip Sekulic in action at Australian Open 2022. Picture: Tennis Australia
You travelled a lot during 2021, spending the most time overseas of any Australian junior. How difficult was that?
It wasn’t too bad. I spent, maybe, eight months with my dad just travelling. I got to play against a…
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