Teenage tennis star Jennifer Ott believes her mental toughness was key to her winning a national title at the Australian Hardcourt Junior Championships in Adelaide last week.
Competing in the 14/u girls’ competition, the Carlingford resident was down twice in the Final before storming home to beat Queenslander Tori Russell 7-5 6-4 in just under two hours.
The victory saw Jennifer secure back-to-back titles from West Lakes Tennis Club after winning the 12/u girls’ title last year.
Speaking with Parra News, the 13-year-old said it was a remarkable comeback against one of her closest friends and rivals.
“I’ve played Tori a few times before and she was also my doubles partner in this tournament as well,” Jennifer said.
“I was down 5-2 in the first and Tori had four set points. I managed to come back and win the first set 7-5. Then in the second set, I was down again, this time 4-1, and came back to win it 6-4.
“My mental toughness was pretty good throughout the tournament. Even in the semi-finals I was down big and still won.”
Making the Year 8 student’s victory even more impressive was the fact she came into the tournament playing up a division and with an injury.
Jennifer said she never felt any pressure as she was coming up against players more experienced than her.
“Because I aged up a division, there wasn’t any pressure on me, so I was looking forward to comparing my level to players who were slightly older,” she said.
“I was going into it pretty confident and excited to see where I was at, however I ended up getting injured a week before, so I wasn’t sure how my serve would go but thankfully it was enough to last the tournament.”
Jennifer has been playing tennis since the tender age of four before she started taking things more seriously when she was nine. These days she trains upwards of six days per week before and after school.
“I remember my family having fun hitting sessions when I was younger and then I started to join in and really liked it,” she said.
“I started taking lessons and it just progressed from there. I was always very athletic growing up. I did karate, gymnastics, touch football, ice skating, soccer, but now I mainly focus on tennis.”
Not only has Jennifer taken her talents all over Australia, but she’s also travelled the world on several occasions showing off her skills.
In a few weeks’ time she’ll be off to Perth to participate in her first-ever ITF (International Tennis Federation) tournament.
“As I’m getting older and more experienced, my goals are continuously changing,” Jennifer said.
“When I aged out of 12’s, my goal was to win a 14 and under event, but now that I’ve achieved that, my next goal is to win an ITF tournament because that’s the next level.”
Troy Dodds is Parra News' Managing Editor and Breaking News Reporter. He has more than 20 years experience as a journalist, working with some of Australia’s leading media organisations. In 2023, he was named Editor of the Year at the Mumbrella Publish Awards.