Warrnambool Supergrasse Tennis Complex coach Joe Hakimi says thinking of those less fortunate has helped him get through the coronavirus pandemic.
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"One way that has kind of helped me get through this, as tough as it has been, we are in a very privileged country, there is so much going on around the world," he said.
"When we think of those who are less fortunate than us then we can easily get through our days.
"Even if we compare our lives to people in Melbourne.
"Yeah we've been in lockdown and everything but we've got the beach, beautiful walks and you can go cycling.
"In that sense, we're lucky and fortunate and all these little government incentives we're thankful for that as well because it's helping us keep afloat basically.
"I feel for a lot of businesses in Melbourne or Sydney or wherever which are far more impacted than us in some ways - the restaurants and stuff like that.
"So if we consider all those who are less fortunate than us or doing it a lot tougher than us, it makes our job a little bit easier to get through each day."
Hakimi's hope for this summer is see tennis back in full swing.
"We just want to see nine courts filled up with people again," he said with a smile.
"Using them for competitions or members being allowed to come and use the courts and not having to book it or anything.
"We just want to see some normality back into life."
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Tennis lessons have returned since the most recent lockdown for regional Victoria ended about a week ago.
Under Tennis Victoria guidelines, training and coaching is allowed for all ages and is limited to number of people required to train. Competition is off limits.
There is also a venue cap of 20 people.
Hakimi said court hire was available and people must book.
While the coach said the club's Cardio Tennis workouts for adults were going gangbusters, it is still missing out on plenty of opportunities.
He said there would normally be men's, women's and mixed spring pennants.
Max Phillips, who is coached by Hakimi, is thrilled tennis lessons are back.
The 13-year-old is part of a Tennis Australia regional zone squad which is for promising players around the state.
"It's really good to get back because it's been so long without tennis, it's been pretty difficult but now we're back and I'm here almost everyday of the week," he said.
The teenager said opportunities had been limited during winter, not just because of coronavirus pandemic restrictions.
"It's been pretty tough because the times you're here, occasionally it gets rained out so you want to make the most of every opportunity but there wasn't many," he said.
"And I do quite a few tournaments so it's really tough to go into them without having much practice."
He's hopeful competition isn't too far away.
"I usually do three or four tournaments over the summer including one at Warrnambool," he said.
"I've won a couple of tournaments but not many and none in under 14s which is the age group I've moved to.
"So I'd love to win a tournament, that would be pretty cool."
He also like to improve his ranking. He said he was currently number 21 in the state for his age for Tennis Australia points.
"It's the highest I've ever been and I'd just love to break the 20," he said.
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