My chance to become Australia’s next tennis champ
Donation protected
Hi!
My name is Jess Fowler.
I am Tasmania’s only professional female tennis player.
Being an emerging pro player on the very competitive ITF/WTA is a very hard, long and costly journey, especially when you are starting from Tasmania.
I have had some good success to date, however, in order to continue my dream and have a chance to be even more competitive and successful in 2021/22, I need to be playing a minimum of 15 international and 5 domestic tournaments in the next 12 months. The cost to do this is around $83,000. This covers the basics such as flights, accommodation, food and tournament entry fees.
Tennis is my full-time job and I spend about 6 hours training every day. I also coach junior players to support myself financially.
I’m trying to raise initial funds to help me gain further world ranking points which will help my results and provide further funds through prize money/sponsorship. Basically, I need your help to kick start my professional tennis career!
I know that I have what it takes to be one of the best and I am willing to work harder than anyone else to achieve my goals. Your support would me the world to me.
Thanks!
My tennis journey so far:
Ever since picking up a racquet at the age of six I knew I wanted tennis in my life. Little did I know that at the age of 20 my life would be the sport.
The small and sunny east coast town of St. Helens, Tasmania, is where I grew up and lived until the age of 13. Being a young person and growing up in an isolated and rural town has its challenges on its own but chasing a dream of becoming a professional tennis player was especially difficult but I have never backed away from a challenge!
Tennis was far from being a popular sport in St. Helens, there was only one tennis court to share amongst a town of 2500 people, and I was basically the only one who ever used it. I spent every day after school at the court, if I could not convince one of the adults to practice with me then I would be there practising my serve until it got too dark to see. I wanted to play tennis all the time but having no one to play against was difficult, so one afternoon my dad and I decided to build a hitting wall in the back yard. We dug out a trench and made 4 concrete panels each 3 metres high then bolted them together. I hit against the wall for 2 hours every morning before school, even in winter I was out there before the sun came up, wearing 3 jumpers. The wall backed onto one of our goat pens which had an electric fence, so I soon learnt how to control my shots.
I was competing in tournaments state-wide from the age of 9, which meant my mum driving me across Tasmania every weekend, I played tournaments in Burnie (7 hr round trip), Devonport (6 hr round trip), Launceston (4 hr round trip) and Hobart (6 hr round trip). As well as travelling to tournaments, my mum and
I travelled to Launceston once a week for a tennis lesson and Hobart every Thursday so I could train with the other girls and boys in the state squads. We did these in day trips as mum couldn’t afford to take any more days off work, and I couldn’t miss too much school.
At the age of 12 I was comfortably making state teams and travelling interstate to compete in tournaments. My parents knew that if I even had a chance at making my dream a reality, I needed every opportunity possible and I wasn’t getting it in St Helens.
Whilst competing in a tournament I was approached by a Melbourne based tennis school, who were very interested in me. However, my mum didn’t want me moving interstate at the age of 13 and my family couldn’t financially afford it, so we looked at schools in Hobart that offered boarding, but we really couldn’t afford that either. I had my heart set on one particular school where a lot of the tennis girls went, my parents gave me a choice; they would try to pay for me to attend this school but in doing so they wouldn’t be able to afford for me to go on anymore tennis trips.
Luckily for me at the time a man named Mark had become the CEO of tennis Tasmania and had been a manager for the state team trip to Western Australia which I was a part of. My mum had volunteered to go as the female manager on the same trip. It was here that Mark learnt about my situation and the belief that my family had in me and my tennis. Amazingly, Mark welcomed me in to live with him and his family in Hobart to enable me to pursue my dream. I moved to a new school, in a new city where I only knew a handful of people. I lived with Mark for over two years, he helped me a great deal with both my tennis and with the transition into my new life in Hobart away from my family. Mark made me feel like I was apart of his family, even to this day and that is something I will forever be grateful for.
I met John Playle when I was 12 years old, he had been one of the coaches in the state squads which I attended every Thursday in Hobart. John was known for being a tough but very passionate coach, which is what my family and I respect most about him. John’s reputation also preceded him as he was coaching a lot of the state’s best female and male tennis players at the time. With all this in mind it was an easy decision and it made sense that I would train at the Hobart Tennis Academy with John.
I have now been coached by John for the last six years, in this time I have accomplished some of the greatest results any female Tasmanian tennis player has ever achieved. This would never have been possible without John’s timeless effort, commitment and ongoing belief in me and my potential to achieve. I am privileged to have been given a coaching job by John at the Hobart Tennis Academy, where I am enjoying coaching and mentoring Tasmania’s junior tennis players. My earnings are helping towards the cost of me living in Hobart (rent, food, car etc.) and ultimately contributing towards my tennis trips. I am currently travelling across Australia and the world to continue my dream of being a professional tennis player.
I’ve had some success over the years. Here’s a snapshot:
My name is Jess Fowler.
I am Tasmania’s only professional female tennis player.
Being an emerging pro player on the very competitive ITF/WTA is a very hard, long and costly journey, especially when you are starting from Tasmania.
I have had some good success to date, however, in order to continue my dream and have a chance to be even more competitive and successful in 2021/22, I need to be playing a minimum of 15 international and 5 domestic tournaments in the next 12 months. The cost to do this is around $83,000. This covers the basics such as flights, accommodation, food and tournament entry fees.
Tennis is my full-time job and I spend about 6 hours training every day. I also coach junior players to support myself financially.
I’m trying to raise initial funds to help me gain further world ranking points which will help my results and provide further funds through prize money/sponsorship. Basically, I need your help to kick start my professional tennis career!
I know that I have what it takes to be one of the best and I am willing to work harder than anyone else to achieve my goals. Your support would me the world to me.
Thanks!
My tennis journey so far:
Ever since picking up a racquet at the age of six I knew I wanted tennis in my life. Little did I know that at the age of 20 my life would be the sport.
The small and sunny east coast town of St. Helens, Tasmania, is where I grew up and lived until the age of 13. Being a young person and growing up in an isolated and rural town has its challenges on its own but chasing a dream of becoming a professional tennis player was especially difficult but I have never backed away from a challenge!
Tennis was far from being a popular sport in St. Helens, there was only one tennis court to share amongst a town of 2500 people, and I was basically the only one who ever used it. I spent every day after school at the court, if I could not convince one of the adults to practice with me then I would be there practising my serve until it got too dark to see. I wanted to play tennis all the time but having no one to play against was difficult, so one afternoon my dad and I decided to build a hitting wall in the back yard. We dug out a trench and made 4 concrete panels each 3 metres high then bolted them together. I hit against the wall for 2 hours every morning before school, even in winter I was out there before the sun came up, wearing 3 jumpers. The wall backed onto one of our goat pens which had an electric fence, so I soon learnt how to control my shots.
I was competing in tournaments state-wide from the age of 9, which meant my mum driving me across Tasmania every weekend, I played tournaments in Burnie (7 hr round trip), Devonport (6 hr round trip), Launceston (4 hr round trip) and Hobart (6 hr round trip). As well as travelling to tournaments, my mum and
I travelled to Launceston once a week for a tennis lesson and Hobart every Thursday so I could train with the other girls and boys in the state squads. We did these in day trips as mum couldn’t afford to take any more days off work, and I couldn’t miss too much school.
At the age of 12 I was comfortably making state teams and travelling interstate to compete in tournaments. My parents knew that if I even had a chance at making my dream a reality, I needed every opportunity possible and I wasn’t getting it in St Helens.
Whilst competing in a tournament I was approached by a Melbourne based tennis school, who were very interested in me. However, my mum didn’t want me moving interstate at the age of 13 and my family couldn’t financially afford it, so we looked at schools in Hobart that offered boarding, but we really couldn’t afford that either. I had my heart set on one particular school where a lot of the tennis girls went, my parents gave me a choice; they would try to pay for me to attend this school but in doing so they wouldn’t be able to afford for me to go on anymore tennis trips.
Luckily for me at the time a man named Mark had become the CEO of tennis Tasmania and had been a manager for the state team trip to Western Australia which I was a part of. My mum had volunteered to go as the female manager on the same trip. It was here that Mark learnt about my situation and the belief that my family had in me and my tennis. Amazingly, Mark welcomed me in to live with him and his family in Hobart to enable me to pursue my dream. I moved to a new school, in a new city where I only knew a handful of people. I lived with Mark for over two years, he helped me a great deal with both my tennis and with the transition into my new life in Hobart away from my family. Mark made me feel like I was apart of his family, even to this day and that is something I will forever be grateful for.
I met John Playle when I was 12 years old, he had been one of the coaches in the state squads which I attended every Thursday in Hobart. John was known for being a tough but very passionate coach, which is what my family and I respect most about him. John’s reputation also preceded him as he was coaching a lot of the state’s best female and male tennis players at the time. With all this in mind it was an easy decision and it made sense that I would train at the Hobart Tennis Academy with John.
I have now been coached by John for the last six years, in this time I have accomplished some of the greatest results any female Tasmanian tennis player has ever achieved. This would never have been possible without John’s timeless effort, commitment and ongoing belief in me and my potential to achieve. I am privileged to have been given a coaching job by John at the Hobart Tennis Academy, where I am enjoying coaching and mentoring Tasmania’s junior tennis players. My earnings are helping towards the cost of me living in Hobart (rent, food, car etc.) and ultimately contributing towards my tennis trips. I am currently travelling across Australia and the world to continue my dream of being a professional tennis player.
I’ve had some success over the years. Here’s a snapshot:
Organizer
Jessica Fowler
Organizer
Lindisfarne, TAS