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North Perth tennis ace heading for Bruce Cup

Giovanni TorreEastern Reporter

NORTH PERTH resident Shanelle Iaconi is in her age group’s top ten tennis players in the country, but she is setting her sights even higher.

Ranked number two in WA and seventh nationally in her category, 12 year-old Shanelle has been playing at Alexander Park Tennis Club for four years.

In October, she will be representing WA for the second consecutive year at the Bruce Cup, the national 12 and under teams tournament, being held in Albury, New South Wales.

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“I have also played in the Perth Gold, which is quite a big tournament,” she told Guardian Express.

“I hope to win a couple of matches at the Bruce Cup and get some tournament experience.”

The Bruce Cup started in 1938 and was the tournament in which many Australian legends played their first representative matches for their state, including Rod Laver, Lew Hoad and Fred Stolle, and more recently, Jason Stoltenberg, Pat Rafter, Todd Woodbridge, Mark Philippoussis, Rachel McQuillan and Evie Dominikovic.

“I hope to travel and play tournaments around Australia; and take my tennis much further,” Shanelle said.

Conducted by School Sport Australia in partnership with Tennis Australia, the Bruce Cup attracts Australian ranking points.

While the Bruce Cup is a grass tournament, Shanelle plays on all three surfaces and will be competing in a major clay court cup in Canberra later this year.

Her brother Jerome is the Number 1 ranked 14 year-old in WA and, like his sister, is in the national top 10.