Plenty of positives for NZ Junior Billie Jean King Cup team

Junior Billie Jean King Cup captain Emily Fanning believes the three players in the New Zealand team got a lot out of their week in Kazakhstan.

New Zealand finished sixth in the 16-nation tournament, with the top four teams qualifying for the world finals.

On Saturday New Zealand played for fifth and sixth spot against Chinese Taipei, losing  2-1. Lucia Gale lost 0-6 6-1 10-3 to Audrey Kao and Aishi Das beat Lin You Chen 2-6 7-5 11-9. Chinese Taipei then had a walkover in the doubles.

But those score lines don’t tell the full story.

“Lucia was beating her girl quite easily, won the first set 6-0 and then hurt her back,” Fanning explained.

“She played the match out, but unfortunately it was pretty sore. 

“Aishi won her match, but for the doubles Lucia and Yash (Thummula) had sore backs.

“Also, we didn’t go on court until 3pm, so with our flights, it was going to be tight time-wise, but the main reason was that we had two injured players.”

Fanning said all three will benefit from this experience, of playing a lot of matches for their country over a short period.

“Aishi and Lucia played this tournament in the same place last year, so they adapted well, they knew what to expect with the surface and the travel,” she said.

“It was a good experience for Yash to be on the team with those two, who are a bit more experienced.

“None of the girls grew up on clay and it is a challenge, so the more they can get playing matches on this surface the better. 

“It was hot, there were some injuries, some sickness, but they coped really well and that was impressive to see.”

Finishing sixth meant the New Zealand team didn’t quite achieve their target, but Fanning says it was a successful trip.

“Our goal for the week was to qualify and we got really close,” she said. 

“We were so close to beating China and that would have been massive, because the next day we would have played Chinese Taipei, rather than Korea, who are very good on clay.

“When we played Korea, the courts were really wet and slow, which worked against us.

“But all three players had some really good matches and built confidence throughout the week.

“So it was a great experience for the players.”

Fanning, who is a former Billie Jean King Cup player, retired as a professional a couple of years ago and says it’s been good for her to be able to pass on her knowledge. 

“I’m doing my PhD in Otago in food science and I also managing one of my parents’ farms,” she said. 

“So in between doing a PhD and managing a farm, it keeps me out of trouble.  I do a bit of coaching in Dunedin, but apart from that, it’s a couple of weeks for Tennis NZ, taking the likes of this team away.

“I really enjoy it, tennis was a big part of my life, so it’s good to still be involved and offer advice to the girls in areas where I’ve had experience as a player.”