Melbourne teen Yassin Hill will compete in the inaugural junior wheelchair tennis competition at Roland Garros.
Paris, France, 6 June 2024 | Leigh Rogers
Yassin Hill is all set to compete in the inaugural junior wheelchair tennis competition at Roland Garros.
“Obviously I’m really excited,” the 17-year-old from Melbourne said. “It’s my first Grand Slam and I’m really looking forward to the experience.”
Roland Garros becomes the second Grand Slam tournament with a junior wheelchair tennis competition, following the US Open’s lead with the introduction of their event in 2022.
“Pushing for a Grand Slam is something I’ve been wanting to do ever since the US Open put a junior Grand Slam in,” Hill said. “Unfortunately I just missed out on it last year, but to have the opportunity to play in the first Roland Garros junior Grand Slam is pretty exciting.”
Hill learned he was one of four junior players to qualify for Roland Garros while representing Australia at the World Team Cup in Turkey last month.
The world No.5 was part of the Australian junior team, alongside Benjamin Wenzel and Jin Woodman, that finished second at the prestigious team event.
“Unfortunately the Americans were too good on the day, but that was a really good campaign for us,” Hill said.
> READ: Australian teams record podium finishes at 2024 World Team Cup
The World Team Cup was played on clay, providing invaluable experience for Hill as he prepares for the biggest clay-court tournament in the world.
“It plays a little bit different to the hard court, there’s a different bounce, a different feel in the chair,” he said about the biggest challenges of competing on the red dirt surface.
“It’s very hard to move, but I can cope with that. It’s all about getting that first explosive push to get moving. Once you’ve got a little bit of momentum behind you, you can start moving really well and get into a rhythm.”
Hill has reason to feel confident about his chances too, having won two junior ITF singles titles and peaked at a career-high ranking of world No.4 this season.
“If I can bring some of that form into Roland Garros, I think I can cause some damage,” he said.
Hill’s sporting prowess comes from his father Anthony, who represented Australia in squash and peaked at a career-high ranking of world No.5 in 1999.
“Dad and I love sport,” Yassin said.
“I’ve always tried to beat his world ranking, it’s a…
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