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Young Yukon tennis player has bright future

The youngest tennis player in the Northern Cup may have a bright future ahead of him. 

Conner De Jong, 10, has been playing tennis for three years. 

He and his father Ben were playing together in the tennis event in his debut at the tournament.

“We’ve gone down south and played in some tournaments and he’s excelling really well,” said Ben. “It’s pretty cool. He’s motivated to keep going and keep playing.” 

Even though they lost a friendly match against other locals eight games to two Saturday, Conner said it was a good match. 

“We were playing against a coach, so we feel that we did pretty good at 8-2,” related Ben. 

The coach was Kieran Halliday. Of Conner, Halliday said, “he’s the man. The future of the sport”. 

This was the first time the De Jongs have been in a tournament together. 

FATHER AND SON DUO – Ben De Jong goes after the ball during an exciting doubles match with his partner and son Conner (background) at Mount McIntyre in Whitehorse Saturday. (Morris Prokop / The Yukon Star)
FATHER AND SON DUO – Ben De Jong goes after the ball during an exciting doubles match with his partner and son Conner (background) at Mount McIntyre in Whitehorse Saturday. (Morris Prokop / The Yukon Star)

“We’ve never played together as a father and a son,” said Ben. “So we thought it was pretty cool that we could join the Northern Cup and do it as a 10-year-old and a 39-year-old.” 

They played five matches over the weekend, including four Saturday. 

Conner, who wants to make tennis a career, watches a lot of tennis on TV. His favourite player? Spain’s Carlos Alcaraz, of course. 

“I’m gonna watch Carlos Alcaraz play Djokovic in the Wimbledon finals,” he said. 

Not surprisingly, Conner said he wanted Alcaraz to win. 

Of note, Alcaraz is only 11 years older than Conner. 

For the record, Alcaraz downed Djokovic in straight sets to take the Wimbledon title. 

Tennis Yukon president Stacy Lewis said Conner’s really developing as a tennis player. 

Kirby Mendes, the summer coach for Tennis Yukon, said Conner “just keeps getting better minute by minute, hour by hour. The rate of improvement is exponential, so imagine in a couple years.” 

When asked what kind of potential Conner has, Mendes responded jokingly, “better than Djokovic. We’re aiming for 24 Grand Slams.” 

Mendes was asked if a kid from the Yukon can succeed at tennis. 

“Why not?” he asked. “We have a little bit of altitude so maybe the lung capacity is a little bit better. So he’s got the cardio, he’s got the will, he’s got the motivation, everything he needs to succeed.”

COACH KIRBY – Tennis Yukon coach Kirby Mendes returns a ball while playing against young tennis phenom Conner De Jong at the Mount McIntyre tennis courts in Whitehorse Saturday. Mendes says De Jong has "everything he needs to succeed." (Morris Prokop / The Yukon Star)
COACH KIRBY – Tennis Yukon coach Kirby Mendes returns a ball while playing against young tennis phenom Conner De Jong at the Mount McIntyre tennis courts in Whitehorse Saturday. Mendes says De Jong has “everything he needs to succeed.” (Morris Prokop / The Yukon Star)

Morris Prokop

Morris Prokop, Sports Editor, has held a variety of media jobs spanning a 23-year career.

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