Kendall Tennis Club has been selected as one of only three regional locations to host ballkid trials for the Sydney Apia International Tennis Tournament in January 2017.

The club has a history of supplying ballkids for Sydney’s biggest tennis tournament.

Rhyan Hudson has been doing it for the last five years and said the main reason he decided to try it out in the first place was for a bit of fun.

“It’s good to get up close with the players who you’d normally only see on television,” he said.

Hudson had the privilege of being involved in Samantha Stosur’s match in Sydney last year when the temperature on court nudged 40 degrees.

“That’s one of the best things about it – you get to see new players every year.”

Tennis club president Wendy Hudson said there was a wide variety of criteria for triallists to complete on the day.

“They’ll need to roll the ball along the ground, not bounce them,” she said.

“They’ll also have to have the ability to bounce the ball to the server at a height which is suitable to them so it’s not going over their heads.”

Hudson said the club has had juniors selected in the NSW ballsquad for the past seven years.

“This is a great opportunity for kids on the whole of the North Coast who want to be ballkids,” she said.

“We want to get the regional kids involved. It’s not just about those that are in metropolitan areas.”

And despite the fact her son had been in the system for the last five years, he’ll also have to trial on Saturday.

“He’ll have to trial like everyone else. He’s not in there just yet,” Hudson said.

The trials will be held  on Saturday at 1pm at Kendall Tennis Club’s new centre in Orara Street, Kendall.

For more details and registration visit Tennis NSW website or contact Wendy Hudson on 0419634848.