Becroft and Watt win their first pro title
Kiwi duo Isaac Becroft, 22, and James Watt, 23, won the men’s doubles title at the Caloundra International (M15) event on the Sunshine Coast in Queensland, Australia over the weekend.
It was the first professional title for both players on the ITF Men's World Tennis Tour. We caught up with Isaac and James and found out a little bit about their tennis journey to this point.
Hey team, congrats on your win! How did it feel to lift the trophy?
James: Yeah, it felt really good to get my first pro title and tick off one of my goals for the year. I set myself the goal of winning an ITF title by the end of the year and that came by a lot quicker than expected! It’s given me confidence and new goals to work towards.
Isaac: This was my first ITF trophy, so it was pretty cool to win it. The thing I enjoyed most about it was winning it with a New Zealander, especially James, who’s just a great bloke and super fun to share the court with.
What went right at this tournament?
Isaac: We were super fortunate to have Matt Alexander (Tennis New Zealand’s National Development Coach) here who sat us down after our first round and told us everything we did wrong, and how to make the adjustments. After we scraped through the first round, we didn’t drop a set, which was pretty cool.
How has your year been? We saw both of you playing at the EVES Open – ITF World Tennis Tour: Tauranga (M15) in Pāpāmoa just before Christmas last year. What have you been up to since then?
James: This year I finished up with my college tennis at Saint Mary’s College of California and graduated in May, so I’ve only just started travelling and playing tournaments full time. The Wellington and Pāpāmoa ITF tournaments were a great start to my campaign and I played a few weeks in Southern California in June where I grabbed a few points too.
Isaac: The year has been great. I had a solid college season at Oklahoma State and then went straight to Asia for six weeks. As always, there were some highs and lows but I believe I’m on the right track. I love the sport, so it makes travelling for it super fun.
Tell us a little bit about your tennis career so far and where it all started.
Isaac: I grew up in Wellington my whole life and was super fortunate to have Finn Tearney and Clint Packer overlooking my tennis from a super young age. Those guys have done so much for me. I am currently based in the US at Oklahoma State University and studying finance. I love Oklahoma State and have a few more years there which I am super excited for. Until I graduate, I only really play on the pro tour during the American summer, which is May to August. After college I hope to play a full schedule year round.
James: I grew up on a dairy farm just outside of Ashburton. I was coached by Kane Newland in Timaru before I went to Saint Mary’s College of California. Kane has helped me out heaps. I’m now working with him again over the phone while I’m at tournaments but hope to travel with him as I take on more of a workload. After studying and playing in the United States for four years, I’ve recently moved to Melbourne. I started playing on the ITF Men's World Tennis Tour at the end of 2022 at the Wellington and Pāpāmoa tournaments.
Thanks, guys! Safe travels and all the best over the coming months. We hope to catch you at a tournament back home in New Zealand this summer.
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