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Tennis Australia is in a tug-of-war with the Turkish federation over rising star Mustafa Ege Sik, who could become the latest player to switch allegiances to the grand slam nation.
The 16-year-old, who has played doubles with former world No.1 Lleyton Hewitt’s son Cruz, has trained with TA’s national academy program in Brisbane for more than a year, including receiving financial support for accommodation, flights, coaching and food.
Turkey teenager Mustafa Ege Sik has been training at Tennis Australia’s national academy in Brisbane.Credit: Josh Chadwick/Tennis Australia
However, Sik continues to represent Turkey despite TA’s support, including playing at the Tennis Europe Summer Cup in August and helping Turkey qualify for the Junior Davis Cup finals for the first time last year.
TA officials believe he will begin playing for Australia in the near future, two sources told this masthead on the condition of anonymity because of the sensitivities of the situation.
Tennis players who switched allegiances to Australia include Maya Joint (who grew up in the United States, but has a Melbourne-born father), Daria Kasatkina, Daria Saville, Anastasia and Arina Rodionova (Russia), Ajla Tomljanovic and Duje Markovina (Croatia), Jarmila Gajdosova (Slovak Republic), Sacha Jones (New Zealand) and Melisa Ercan (Turkey).
Ercan, 20, is playing college tennis in the United States for Oklahoma State University.
Sik, who is ranked No.61 in the junior boys’ world rankings, has had multiple behavioural reprimands during his time at the national academy, another source familiar with the situation told this masthead.
One of those behavioural incidents allegedly occurred on a Tennis Australia-funded overseas trip. Sik is currently training at the Rafa Nadal Academy in Mallorca, Spain.
TA said in a statement to this masthead that it was “not unusual” for international junior players to spend time in different training environments for development purposes.
“Decisions about nationality or residency are personal matters for athletes and their families, and it’s not appropriate for us to comment on individual circumstances,” the statement continued.
“Our focus is always on providing development opportunities for young talent who meet the criteria to train within our programs.”
Sik is a top-100 junior player.Credit: Josh Chadwick/Tennis Australia
TA did not respond to this masthead’s question on whether it was normal for an overseas player to receive the level of support that Sik has.
The situation comes at a time when there is a shortage of emerging Australian men’s players, on top of Alex de Minaur being the country’s sole top-50 player.
The only Australian men younger than 24 inside the world’s top 500 are 22-year-old James McCabe (ranked No.210) and 21-year-old Edward Winter (No.494), while Australia’s Davis Cup team suffered a shock defeat to Ecuador a fortnight ago.
None of Australia’s nine players advanced beyond the second round in the boys’ singles at last month’s Australian Open.
Cruz Hewitt, who turned 17 in December, did not play in the junior event at Melbourne Park and is instead prioritising his transition to the men’s tour. Hewitt is widely viewed as Australia’s best teenage men’s prospect.
Tim Jolley has served as Tennis Australia’s chief strategy and performance officer since March 2020, and is responsible for overseeing the player pathway program.
Jolley formerly worked at Bain & Company, like former TA president Jayne Hrdlicka and her successor Chris Harrop.
Adding to the intrigue is that Turkish Tennis Federation (TTF) president Şafak Müderrisgil mentioned Sik among her country’s best young talents in a wide-ranging interview this month with Turkish newspaper Daily Sabah.
Müderrisgil said TTF launched a support fund specifically for young Turkish players in July last year that had raised 152 million Turkish liras ($4.89 million) from 331 investors.
“We’re seeing diversification and growth in our talent base, which is extremely encouraging,” she said.
“While our senior players continue to compete; it’s vital that younger athletes gain experience, compete internationally and appear at grand slams. This year alone, six Turkish players [including Sik] competed at the Australian Open – that’s hugely valuable.”
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Disclaimer : This story is auto aggregated by a computer programme and has not been created or edited by DOWNTHENEWS. Publisher: www.smh.com.au
