CHARLIE Pade has been recognised as one of Australia’s best junior tennis players.

The 17-year-old has been selected in the All Australian High School Tennis Team after representing NSW in Perth.

The Coffs Harbour player was selected to the national team after outstanding performances playing for NSW All Schools in the Pizzey Cup; the Australian high school tennis championships.

He is currently in Sydney where he has started his HSC, with plans in 2023 to combine study at Sydney University and travel playing both the 18s and Opens in the International Tennis Federation World Junior and Pro Tours.

Pade was stoked to receive an All Australian selection.

“It’s a pretty big achievement for me I guess, and I was pretty stoked to get picked in that team,” he said.

He explained how his All Australian selection came to fruition.

“I went over to Perth to play for NSW against all the other states, and I had a pretty successful tournament,” he said.

Pade has previously represented Australia as a member of the under-16 Indigenous team that played in the Rod Laver Cup Asia/Oceania in Hong Kong.

In addition to being named to the All Australian High School Tennis Team, Pade’s achievements include making the semi finals of the Australia Cup, and being awarded the NSW Team Player Award.

He expected a big end to the year while studying for his HSC.

“For the rest of the year I’ll try and play as many tournaments in Australia as I can to try and boost my ranking and make some money, and try to get around to as many tournaments as I can and just keep playing,” he said.

His father and long-time coach Allan explained what made his son an outstanding player.

“Probably Charlie’s ability to read the game well,” he said.

“He still has a lot of development left in his body – 17 years old and weighs around 54kgs, so that will naturally increase and improve over the coming years which will be noticeable in all areas of his game moving forward.”

By Aiden BURGESS