Gabrielle Yeung’s family moved to Canberra because it’s safer than the US. Photo: Oliver Jacques.
A teenage tennis player from Melba’s On the Line club says she’s fighting to address the dwindling number of girls in the sport after a giant-killing run at the annual MIA Open in Griffith at the weekend.
In the adults Women’s Open event, unseeded Gabrielle Yeung, 16, beat fellow Canberra rising star Annabelle Snow in the quarter-finals before knocking out second seed Chelsea Evans in the semis and taking defending champion Barellan’s Jane Haeusler to a super tiebreak in the final.
Haeusler has played in International Tennis Federation (ITF) pro-tour tournaments in India and New Zealand, so the American-born Yeung was happy with the result.
“I’m surprised I got so close,” Yeung said.
“I want to go back to the US for college [and a tennis scholarship], after proving that I can get a set off an ITF player like Jane, I think I can do it. If it doesn’t work out, I’ll study to become a sports medicine doctor.”
Yeung has lived in Canberra for five years.
“I’m originally from Pennsylvania. My mum was a nurse in America, she was working in the emergency department and often had to treat gunshot wounds … we moved to Canberra because it was safer,” she said.
Males outnumbered females at the Griffith tournament by a ratio of four to one, with some women’s events cancelled due to a lack of entries. This is something Yeung wants to address.
“I’ve done a program to get girls active in tennis, and I’ve done some talks to try to encourage them to play. I’m part of the ACT juniors board, and we are working hard to get more girls involved in the game. I’d advise young women to give the sport a try. You might like it, but if you don’t, you can always try another sport.”
Also flying the flag for women’s tennis was 13-year-old Weston Creek girl Adele Mewett, who made the final of the adult A-grade ladies’ singles, going down to Albury’s Lara Meagher, the great-grand niece of tennis great Margaret Court.
“I’m pretty happy with how I played. My favourite player is Aryna Sabalenka, and I model my game on her baselining style,” Mewett said.
Adele Mewett lost to Albury’s Lara Meagher in the final of the A-grade women’s singles. Photo: Oliver Jacques.
The MIA Open is one of Australia’s longest-running sporting events, held annually since 1910. It attracts top players and emerging talent from regional Victoria, NSW and the ACT. A teenage Nick Kyrgios previously played in the tournament in 2009 and 2010, losing in the semi-finals both times.
The 2025 edition, held last weekend, saw Griffith coach Danny Dossetor win his 13th Open men’s singles title, beating Canberra teenager Ewan Duff in the final. Sets were reduced to a best-of-four format because of rain interruptions.
“It was a lucky 13th for me. I think my opponent was a bit sick, but I played pretty well. The shorter sets helped the older players,” he said.
Barellan’s Jane Haeusler, who lives in Albury, won her third consecutive title in her first outing after hip surgery in January.
“In the singles, it was shocking, I could not run. In the second set, it looked like I wasn’t playing because I couldn’t run, but I was able to get up in the super tiebreak,” she said.
Haeusler and Dossetor then teamed up to win the Open’s mixed doubles. Dossetor also won the Open’s men’s doubles with Griffith teacher Andrew Noad.
The most usual tactic over the long weekend occurred in a doubles match, when Griffith player Lachlan Date offered his opponents fortified McWilliam’s wine and homemade salami when down 3-0.
Lachlan Date, Cheryl Rawle, Warwick Date and Phil Shanahan enjoy a mid-set Tawny. Photo: Oliver Jacques.
Date was playing with father Warwick Date against veteran coaches Phil Shanahan and Cheryl Rawle, in the novelty event called the Centenary doubles, where both partners’ combined age must exceed 100.
“I knew we were going to struggle against the super coaches, so I had to think of something to do mid-set to put them off their game,” Date said.
