RISING Beenleigh tennis ace Hunter Thompson has walked away from the Australian Open recently with experience he never thought possible.
He won his category – for people with autism – and has cemented his position as the country’s top-ranked PWII (People With Intellectual Impairment) player.
The 17-year-old will represent Australia at the Asia-Pacific Games, and is already looking ahead to the World Games in Paris next year.
Rhylee Jackson, 15, also from the Logan area, took out the Deaf and Hard of Hearing category at the same tournament and will reap similar rewards.
Athletes in the diversity and inclusion categories of tennis often train 4-5 days per week, and in Hunter’s case, he trains at the National Tennis Academy on Fridays.
At the Australian Open, they had all privileges of other players – food, towels, and lockers included.
“I got to see the Special Ks (Nick Kyrgios and Thanasi Kokkanakis) play twice,” he said, citing it as his favourite part of the tournament. “We sat with the team, right next to their box.”
At 17, he’s finished school and is already helping young children become better at their tennis game.
He says tennis has clearly helped him deal with his autism, now confident to talk to people.
After seeing the success of Australian of the Year Dylan Alcott whose wheelchair category saw 1.4 million people tune in to his final, Hunter hopes all diversity and inclusion categories will start to gain more recognition.
“I want to stay the best in Australia, and do my best at the World Games,” he said.
