Noelleda aims for aces for Victoria

By Jarrod Potter
NOELLEDA Ah San has reached the pinnacle of junior tennis in Victoria, as the Victorian number one in her age group and now representing her state against the rest of Australia.
Noelleda, 13, from Endeavour Hills, is ranked number one in Victoria for 14-year-old girls, and will be out to defend her spot in the Under 14s Australian Teams Championships held at Melbourne Park this week.
Noelleda started playing tennis at five, having watched her sister play at the Doveton and St Pauls tennis courts near their house.
“I started when I was five, so for seven years,” Noelleda said.
“My sister used to play and we went to training and watched her play, which made me want to get out there and play tennis.”
Having played in tournaments across Australia, Noelleda earned top spot by playing against girls older than herself.
“I played a few tournaments and earned some points,” Noelleda said. “I’m ranked number one in my age group in Victoria and I’ve played in a few tournaments and made it to semi finals and quarter finals a couple of times.”
Noelleda, along with under 14 girls team mates Katerina Valos (Moonee Ponds) and Michelle Pits (Brighton) will face teams from across Australia in the championships.
“The top three girls in Victoria are selected and I’m looking forward to it,” Noelleda said.
“It should be a good experience as it’s a unique event.
“You don’t usually get to play as a team in tennis, as it’s more of an individual game.
“I think we have a fair chance, but will be a bit of a challenge to beat the other states.”
Outside of playing tennis, Noelleda also plays soccer and volleyball at school and also runs cross country.
Her very unique name is a result of her birthday – she was born on 24 December – so her parents took inspiration from ‘Noel’ the Christmas angel and added the ‘leda’ to the end of it.
The Australian Teams Championships started yesterday and finishes tomorrow afternoon.