Taona Mashaya

Taona Mashaya

My name is Taona Mashaya.I am a 13 year old aspiring future tennis proffessional.I hope to be a be a great player and bring pride to Australian tennis.

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    ABOUT Taona Mashaya

    I was born in Sydney in 2013 . My family and I moved to Queensland when I was little. I picked up a great love for sports from early age , playing volley ball , basketball and finding an even greater love for tennis. I have played tennis since i was 5 years old and I love it because its an experienced I have shared for the longest time with my parents and my younger beautiful sister Zyondra, who suffers from a severe intellectual disability and is diagnosed with severe Autism. She has always been there with me training, playing and most times being silly and loud at our local council courts. I am thankful that I have remained playing tennis for this long, despite the many financial limitations our family has faced. I currently train with Tennis Australia, under the junior national player development system. This is where I hope to get the giudence to develop my talents further. 


    I have played in several national junior competitions with great results and good ranking nationally ,for my age group. My goal now is to participate on the junior world tour (ITF), continue training with the national development coaches and start travelling for important junior tour events.


    My parents have supported me to date and have aslo had to look after my younger sister ,who needs 24 hour full-time care. Our Family has had to adjust to a different life-plan. My mother has had to be full time carer for my sister ,as her needs are intensive .Inorder to help me stay with Tennis, my father has spent years training me to the best of his ability. They do not have the wherewithal (financial) to help me continue to chase my dreams. I have despite this fact, continued to train hard everyday and have kept up with top ranked peers in my sport. 


    I am a proud Australian having both parents with refugee-immigrant roots. My father is of African descent(Zimbabwean) and, mother who is half Australian and half European background. Their experiences and life stories have greatly inspired me. They both shared humble beginnings, overcome many obstacles and made home for my sister and I in this great country, full of great possibilities. This has inspired my belief in developing mental fortitude, a survivalist attitude and a readiness to conquer the great sport of tennis.



    My short term goals are to succeed at the junior ITF level. I wish to achieve a higher ranking and follow junior Australian tennis heroes like Emerson Jones. I feel I have the skill and determination to achieve this and the one thing I am in desperate need of is financial assistance:


    • This will enable me to attend scheduled junior ITF events for this year and next year
    • Continue training with the National talent development coaches in QLD
    • Afford travel expenses and entrance fees for tournaments
    • Afford opportunities to play other junior elite players from overseas.

    Thank you for reading my story . Any donations no matter how small, will be greatly appreciated and help me on my journey .