New balls, please: Maroondah ball kids Emma, 12, Mitchell, 14, and Josh, 14, are hard at work at this year's Australian Open. Picture: Lucy Di Paolo.
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AS the rest of the country sits back to watch the best tennis players in the world strut their stuff at the Australian Open, local ball kids are rubbing shoulders with them.
Thirteen ball kids from Maroondah and one from Yarra Ranges were selected from a group of about 3000 applicants to be at the beck and call of the world's best for two weeks at Melbourne Park. Tournament director Craig Tiley told the Weekly that ball boys and girls were one of the reasons the Open was so great.
"The motto with the ball kids is that they provide the best service to the players and are not seen or heard, and that's what they do a great job with."