Daniel Jankoski: Twice the tennis winner after 18 matches in 8 days

The Pizzey Cup and the Australia Cup are two of the country’s most prestigious national school tennis competitions.

Organised by Tennis Australia in partnership with School Sport Australia, the championships are open to students from Years 7 – 12. This year the events were held in Canberra from 13 – 20 May.

Daniel Jankoski, a Year 12 student at The McDonald College, represented NSW, and his team won the Pizzey Cup.

Additionally, he won the Australia Cup in Boys’ Singles, defeating the nation’s top school-aged players, including some from his team in every match.

Many of Australia’s best players have won these events, including Jordan Thompson and Aleksandar Vukic (both ranked Top 100 in the world); James Duckworth, who competed in the last Australian Open; and tennis legends such as Wally Masur, Mark Woodforde, and Pat Rafter to mention just a few.

Daniel joined The McDonald College as a Year 7 student after his father learned about the school’s partnership with Voyager Tennis Academy, which offers elite tennis training integrated into a regular school day.

At around 15, Daniel’s dedication to daily training intensified, and he fully committed himself to the sport. Luke noticed this change and focused on improving Daniel’s strength, technique, match play, observation, and strategic skills.

Daniel’s love for tennis stems from the thrill of winning and making his parents proud. He aims to obtain a scholarship with a US college and believes his recent victory, combined with a current UTR (Universal Tennis Rating) of 11.04, will strengthen his applications.

We will be keeping an eye on his trajectory and are looking forward to seeing more incredible results.