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Sandra Stojanovic - ITF Junior Player (2008)

NSW
Australia

Former number 4 under 12’s in Australia. Trained in the national academy until 14, had knee surgery at 15. I am now 17, recovery taken 2 years, but coming back. My ambitions are to play professionally long term, and I’m willing to invest the time into the journey, looking for a set up at an academy!

Education & Rankings

I went to a high school named Penrith Anglican College and was on a scholarship for my academics I was also house captain representing the sporting aspect for the school and encouraging all students to participate in activities. I left my high school at the beginning of year 11 to start my distance education journey at Australian Christian College to help aid with my tennis career. Once accepted they put me into their special elite pursuit athlete program which provided athletes with opportunities to still compete in their sport as well as continue years 11 and 12 at the same time.

By going to distance education I was allowed flexible hours to complete my schooling alongside tennis training and travel, unlike how it was in regular school. I am now currently in year 12 and will complete my HSC next year.

When I was 12 I was ranked number 4 out of the whole of Australia. When I reached 14 I was ranked 540 out of the whole of Australia including all WTA players that represented the country (ash Barty was 1 at the time). I played my first ITF at 14 and won a few matches in qualifying getting my WTN to a 23. However I needed surgery last year thus, my journey back has involved me playing my first ITF’s back this year in October with my WTN now at a 29 working my way back up the ranks!

Playing experience

I started playing at the age of 7 just as a hobby and my passion grew from there realising this is what I wanted to spend my life doing because I enjoyed it so much and it evolved from there. I have been playing tournaments since red ball, playing many each year.

From 10 years old to 14 I was in the national academy at the time named ‘blue wall’ where Alex De Minaur and other players emerged from with the head being Jaslyn Hewitt, Lleyton Hewitt sister. Playing many tournaments and starting to dip into ITF’s. At 15 I required surgery putting a halt to tournaments and training for a year. Training was increased very slowly to get me to where I am now where my knee is having a significant amount of less pain and I was able to play my first ITF tournaments back in Fiji last month! My knee allowed me to get through full matches at a good intensity and now I am ready to take my training to the next level as my body will allow it and expand my experience to places and situations that I haven’t had to endure before which in hopes will be able to develop me as a person and player!

About me

I am 17 years old, aspiring to become professional tennis player, having previously been ranked number 4 in Australia for my age group in under 12s. After having knee surgery last year in January, I have been 100% committed to my recovery with this and super eager to return stronger than ever!! I believe I’m disciplined, ambitious, and super determined to hopefully achieve a long term career in professional tennis.

I also find that I thrive in supportive, environments where everyone has each other’s backs, and I myself am ready to give the time and effort necessary to reach the next steps or level in my game.

Beyond tennis, I believe I’m quite creative, I love reading and art, and enjoy taking on challenging new experiences whether it’s new hobbies like horse riding or swimming. I love the thrill of the unknown and that drives me to experiance new things and see how it can impact my life and teach my new lessons to develop my character.

Date of birth: 29/05/2008
Hand Used: Right
Height: 177
Racket: Yonnex e-zone 98
Clothing: Adidas
Shoes: Nike
Any Sponsors: No
UTR: 5.44
Favourite Player: Novak Djokovic
Career Aspirations: To get a ranking on the WTA tour
Favourite Tournament: Australian Open
Best Surface: Hard court
Best Win: Country championships under 18’s
Goals for the coming year: To eliminate any weakness in my knee and develop my technical aspect and movement in my game.

Aims & Goals

My long term aim is to become a professional tennis player and make a living off of being an athlete. During my journey there I want to be able to develop as a person by experiencing uncomfortable situations which will allow me to learn new things and gain knowledge of how to be an adult and life itself. I hope this will make me a stronger person overall and not have to rely on anyone for things and become independent evolving into a strong woman.

My short term goals would be to completely eliminate any weakness or pain in the knee which is very achievable with how recovery is rapidly progressing recently, as well as possibly get ITF ranking points which will push me onto playing in the WTA tour. Me slowly staring to enter and experience the WTA tour would be a sort of ‘medium term’ goal wanting to achieve this in the next 3 or 3.5 years, I would love for this to be one of my next major goals to focus on!

Short term I would also love to develop my game technically well, especially my backhand in making it just as effective as my other shots as it is weaker but still reliable. I’d love to keep improving my serve as it’s my biggest weapon and develop more precision on it to set up the points. And the last short term goal is love to HEAVILY focus on is my movement. Especially coming back from surgery I’d love to get very efficient and explosive movement, because I’m a taller girl movement hasn’t always been my strong suit and I’ve gotten away with using power but now I want to improve my movement to keep developing my game as I get to the next higher levels!!

Current and Previous Coach, Club & Academies

I was previously in the national academy in Sydney Australia working with ‘blue wall’ for about 3-4 years.
I also just previously worked with a coach for around 3 months, Kenta Naka.
This year I spent 3 months at an academy called French Touch as well as last year for about a month.
Now I’m at Sydney Olympic park attending squads every day as my training until I go over to Europe

Testimonial

When I first met Sandra, she was in the middle of recovering from knee surgery, a process that had already tested her for nearly two grueling years. She was at a point where many players would have walked away, yet she chose to keep fighting. From the beginning, I treated Sandra with the standards and expectations of a professional athlete. The accountability I placed on her would have caused many players in her situation to question their path, but she embraced it. Her response to adversity was highlighted during the ITF Junior tournament in Fiji, where despite doubts surrounding her mental, technical, and physical readiness, she stepped up and won a match. That moment showed exactly who she was. Sandra is a player willing to push her limits, learn with an open mind, and approach training with genuine humility and kindness. With a long-term vision and with the steady support of her good tennis parents, I truly believe anything is possible for her. Any environment that welcomes Sandra will gain someone who works incredibly hard, elevates those around her, and gives everything she has. If you have any questions about her tennis, please don't hesitate to contact me Kenta Naka hiurajpnz@gmail.com Whatsapp - +4915739497848

Kenta Naka

Testimonial

Sandra is a dedicated and highly motivated tennis player with a strong work ethic and a consistently positive attitude. She’s coachable, focused, and respectful, she brings great energy to every training session with genuine passion. Sandra is known for being a supportive teammate and an easy person to work with, she combines discipline with enthusiasm, making her a strong asset both on and off the court.

Ella Stares