Irin Chung plays in Australia

Irin Chung, left, and Taryn Nadler pose with their girls 16 doubles runner-up certificates in last weekend’s Victorian Junior Grass Court Championships in Australia. (CONTRIBUTED PHOTO)

While her fellow junior players are dealing with rain delay in the ongoing 2023 SIS Student Council Tennis Tournament, Irin Chung has been sharpening her tennis skills in Australia the past couple of weeks.

The 14-year-old Saipan International School student got the opportunity to play in the Land Down Under after getting third place in her age group in last year’s Pacific Oceania Junior Championships in Fiji. 

Chung took part in two tournaments—the  Margaret Court Cup, from Jan. 5 to 9; and the Victorian Junior Grass Court Championships, from Jan. 10 to 14.

While Chung finished 0-5 in the singles of the Margaret Court Cup, she and doubles partner Taryn Nadler finished runner-up in the girls 16.

She and Nadler advanced to the finals following a 6-1, 6-0 win over Isabella Parsons and Zemichke Snyman. They, however, lost to Kaylee Davidson and Carla Pearson in a hard-fought third-set tiebreaker in the finals, 4-6, 7-5, 8-10.

Irin Chung poses with her fellow players and coaches from this weekend’s Victorian Junior Grass Court Championships in Australia. (CONTRIBUTED PHOTO)

“For Margaret’s Court Cup, I did not play very well for singles but Taryn Nadler and I got runners-up in U16 girls doubles,” she said.

In the Victorian Junior Grass Court Championships, Chung finished third overall in the girls 16 singles with a 3-2 win-loss record.

She beat Snyman, 6-3, 6-2; Paige Vickery, 6-2, 6-1, and Parson, 4-1, 4-0. In doubles, Chung and her partner Parsons won one match out of four.

Chung said it took her a while to get used to playing in Australia, especially because of the unusual conditions she wasn’t accustomed to.

“It was really difficult to play here the first few days because it was grass court and it was my first time. I think playing in Australia was a great experience since I got to play against stronger players from many other countries. The weather has also been extremely hot and I had to play four matches in one day which was a challenge,” she told Saipan Tribune. 

While in Australia, Chung said Raynal Singh and Michelle Jaggard-Lai served as her coaches. 

Getting a berth to the Margaret Court Cup and Victorian Junior Grass Court Championships after a third-place stint in the POJC was remarkable for Chung considering she was a wildcard entry for the North Pacific team.

Chung dedicated her stint in Australia and finishing second in doubles in the Margaret Court Cup and third in singles in the Victorian Junior Grass Court Championships to her family, friends, players she’s been practicing with and national coach and CNMI sports hall of famer Jeff Race.

Race is also president of the Northern Mariana Islands Tennis Association.