Lorenzo Rigoli and Rhiann Eddy are gearing up for the trip of a lifetime, spending two weeks honing their tennis skills at the Emilio Sanchez Academy in Spain.
Photo by
Megan Fisher
Picture this: clay spitting off the surface as a player slides to return serve, marathon rallies under the beating sun with shouts of ‘vamos’ punching through the air when a point is eventually won.
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It is tennis heritage.
Some of the sport’s best — Rafael Nadal and Carlos Alcaraz, to name a few — were raised on this diet of red earth and gruelling tennis grit.
And for two Goulburn Valley youngsters, it is about to become their reality.
Lorenzo Rigoli and Rhiann Eddy are priming themselves for the pilgrimage of a lifetime, heading to the Emilio Sanchez Academy in Barcelona with the Bendigo-based Giant Tennis program.
Throughout the two-week camp, the pair will be exposed to intensive on-court training sessions, mental coaching, fitness and conditioning as well as game analysis.
Going wheels up to Catalonia on September 19, 17-year-old Rigoli cannot wait to test himself on the clay courts against the endurance machines of Spain.
“On the grass, it's a lot of serve-volley stuff, but on the clay there's going to be a lot of grinding rallies where it's going to be ball after ball,” he said.
“The Spanish never die; I don't know if you've ever heard that one before, but they never give up.
“It's going to be really cool to play against people where you're just going to have to stay strong mentally to win points.”
Lorenzo Rigoli and Rhiann Eddy are keen to test themselves on the Spanish clay courts come September.
Photo by
Megan Fisher
Tennis wasn’t always Rigoli’s game.
Instead, he started out playing a sport the Spanish aren’t half bad at, either.
“I used to be a soccer player — I used to be the goalkeeper — but as I started to play tennis, I started to enjoy it more,” he said.
“I started tennis since I was 10 years old and I was inspired by my mum; she played in competition when she was younger.
“Ever since then, I've just loved getting on the court, hitting the balls and just being a part of a team is a really nice factor of it as well.”
Rigoli beat the path of his mum Palmira, opting to grab a racquet and don a headband while packing the soccer boots away for good.
It’s oddly similar to his fellow Spain-bound travel buddy’s tennis origins.
Sixteen-year-old Eddy used to ply her trade on a different sort of court until eight years ago.
Something clicked — netball was no longer her game.
So what swayed her?
Realising, with a racquet in her grip, the power was literally in the palm of her hand.
“I really enjoy the power of it, being able to hit the ball really hard,” she said.
“Lots of long rallies, hitting lots of winners and mostly just being able to get lots of power off the ball.”
Eddy is keen to learn how to slide in Spain — an element Nadal mastered during his reign as the King of Clay.
She hopes it’ll add an important string to her bow, one that’ll come in handy as she nocks an arrow aimed at the top of local tennis.
“My first goal, I want to be the best in the Goulburn Valley,” she said.
“And then I hope to become a pro one day or very close to it — I just mostly hope to become the best player that I can possibly be.”
Meanwhile, Rigoli is eyeing off college in the United States, which he hopes will lead to pro circuit events, or a return to elite-level tournaments back in Australia.
“I'm going to try and take it as far as possible and college is the big milestone that I'm aiming for at the moment,” he said.
For Rigoli and Eddy, the upcoming Spanish sojourn could be the springboard that launches their tennis careers and both wished to thank their parents and the Shepparton community for the ongoing support they’ve received.
Those wishing to help contribute to the Shepparton duo’s trip can donate to the support pages of Rigoli and Eddy here: https://gianttennis.com.au/fundraising#dcafa622-fce8-491f-b52e-181e97da68d2.
