This time of the year brings about a surge of tennis excitement for many, as the focus turns to Melbourne, where both Australian and international tennis superstars engage in intense competition for glory at the Australian Open.
Sonny Rennison, a 11-year-old wheelchair tennis champion ranked 15th in the world, is being a ballkid at an exhibition match in Kooyong.
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On today’s The Briefing podcast, we spoke to Sonny and one of Australia’s top wheelchair tennis stars Heath Davidson, discussing the importance of increasing accessibility for athletes with disability.
Sonny’s remarkable journey into this prestigious role is not only a testament to his talent but also a result of innovative technology developed by the creative tech company streaker and supported by Mastercard.
It’s called the dust-buster firstly. And it’s like a little vacuum thing, like one of those little ones that you use to get the dust and it’s got the handle at the end and then the ball is collected at the front,”
Sonny said.
With the help of this technology, Sonny is able to fulfil his dream of being a ballkids.
I want this to be the new norm, to be able to turn on the TV and see kids like Sonny being ballkids at the Australian Open, or just have people with a disability in the mainstream media or just in mainstream,”
Mr Davidson said.
I want it normalised.”
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