'Awesome': All-Indigenous tennis team represents Australia at Fiji Open

Five up-and-coming Indigenous tennis players have been given the chance to represent Australia overseas this week.

Mikayla Zahirovic and Evonne Goolagong at the National Indigenous Tennis Carnival in Darwin last year. Source: Getty Images

The hits keep coming for Townsville tennis prodigy Mikayla Zahirovic.

She aced her competitors at the National Indigenous Tennis Carnival in Darwin last year and was presented a medal named after Evonne Goolagong.

This week the 17-year-old plays in her first-ever overseas tennis tournament.

She will be joined at the Fiji Open by her teammates Corey Clarke, Toby Radford, Kaecia Beattie, and Lily Pade and coach Anzac Leidig.

They will face more than 170 players from around the world during the five-day tournament.

Zahirovic (centre) poses for a photo with her teammates on a practice court in Fiji. Source: Tennis Australia

The initiative is part of Tennis Australia’s efforts to find and develop Indigenous sporting talent from remote communities.

“These opportunities are so important to Indigenous players like myself as it’s not every day we get to travel overseas to play a sport that we love,” Zahirovic said.

“It’s an awesome opportunity for us to be able to showcase all the hard work we’ve put into training both on-and-off the court.

“This is my first time going overseas for a tennis tournament and I’m really looking forward to playing and seeing all my hard work pay off and to be representing not only myself but Indigenous Australians and making my family proud.”