When Cara Korhonen walked into Rod Laver Arena at the age of 10 to compete against one of her tennis heroes, it sparked a dream that took her all over the world.
“I had Alicia Molik playing right next to me and she gave me a high-five,”
» said the 19-year-old.
“(She) was telling me how well I was playing and that’s a memory that really stuck with me.”
Cara Korhonen has been playing tennis since she was 4 years old. (ABC Riverina: Jess Scully)
The Gold Coaster is number 1,463 in the Women’s Tennis Association rankings and has been playing since she picked up a racket at the age of four.
Her dream of becoming a Grand Slam star has taken her to Thailand, Taiwan, Hong Kong, the United States, Finland — and Wagga Wagga.
Play for love, not money
Competitors at the ITF Women’s World Tennis Tournament 35 in Wagga Wagga are battling it out for a share of $30,000 in prize money.
For comparison, the Australian Open offers a prize pool of more than $33 million for the men’s and women’s singles divisions and an additional $5 million for doubles.
Players at the Wagga Wagga World Tour tennis event are competing for a $30,000 prize pool. (Supplied: Tennis NSW)
But for players like Korhonen, the real prize on offer at Wagga is the points standings.
“I try to get as many points as possible so it’s a lot safer to compete in these tournaments,” she said.
“A lot of what I do has to be done by myself.”
This means she has to be as quick to find a good deal as she is on the ground.
“(I) go to Coles or Woollies and look at these quick sale items and just try to grab as many as I can,”
she said.
Mom’s with me for the ride
Korhonen’s mother, Annelie, took on the role of coach and support staff.
“Every tournament, you’re more likely to lose a few thousand (dollars) out of pocket,” she said.
“A first round on the main draw, which earns you approximately two nights of accommodation.
“It’s always that you go home with a more or less negative salary, you paid more than what you got back.“
Budding tennis star Cara Korhonen (left) with her mother Annelie during the Wagga Wagga World Tour. (ABC Riverina: Jess Scully)
Gabriella Da Silva-Fick has been playing tennis for 15 years and is ranked 515th in the WTA singles rankings.
“People see these big tournaments and think it’s glamorous, but it’s a lot of work,” she said.
“We pretty much book all of our own accommodation, travel, flights. It all comes out of our bank accounts, so there’s a lot of pressure on the bottom line.”
The Collaroy local has competed in Europe and appeared at the Australian Open in 2019.
“What people don’t realize is that if we are sick or injured, we don’t get paid, so it’s up to us to take care of our bodies,”
» said Da Silva-Fick.
Australian tennis player Gabriella Da Silva-Fick chases her dreams at the Wagga Wagga World Tour event. (Supplied: Tennis NSW)
Korhonen has at least one secret weapon for dealing with the mental stress of chasing his dreams of sports stardom.
“I’m about to finish (a psychology degree). I did it in less than a year and a half,” she said.
“To step onto the courts of the Australian Open and be called Dr Korhonen has always been a big dream of mine.“
