Molloy: Just a couple of weeks.
What is, or will be, the best part of the job?
I think just interacting with tennis players. I've got a passion for the game, so just meeting like-minded people and trying to encourage more people back into tennis. When I was a junior, it was a really popular game, and it's the most beautiful game in the world as far as I'm concerned. I want to get more kids back into it and just build the profile for tennis in Otago.
What is the state of southern tennis?
At the moment, it's difficult for clubs. I think, in Otago, people tend to utilise the Edgar Centre as opposed to joining clubs. I don't want to put a bad name on the Edgar Centre — it's a fantastic venue, and we use it a lot ourselves — but we want to get people back into clubs and playing at that level. It's an outdoor sport, so coming into summer season, we want to see more people in clubs.
How are the main tennis facilities looking at at Logan Park?
They're amazing. We now have pickleball down here. We want the centre to be a racquet-based environment. We've got squash courts down here that we want to get up and running again. This is where we want to make it all happen. The courts look amazing.
Have you come into the role with some firm goals, or are you starting to set those goals now?
I'm a development officer, so just getting more people back into the game at all different levels. Juniors, seniors, social, every aspect of the game. There's so much potential down here. We're getting into the university and the polytech and trying to find more people to play at a social level. Having this venue we have down here humming in the summer evenings and weekends, that's what I want to see. Getting it back outside and getting the passion back for the sport. Because it's the best sport in the world.
Lydia Ko transformed women's golf in New Zealand. Do you need someone — like Lulu Sun — achieving at the elite level to reignite interest in tennis here?
I think we definitely do. You need some inspiration, especially as a woman in the sport. Tennis New Zealand as a whole has work to do as well. I'm only a very small part of that cog, but I can do my best to encourage that on a regional level. Getting some good players here to inspire younger ones is really key, and keeping good players here as well. That's not always easy. The opportunities are a bit limited in little old Dunedin. But it all starts at the very bottom. Getting more girls into playing tennis at a young age and having some inspiring players in Dunedin that will hopefully encourage the kids to keep playing.
Is tennis an accessible sport? Times are tough for a lot of people. Where do you feel tennis is placed to appeal to all sorts of people from all walks of life?
It's not an expensive sport. All you have to have is a pair of shoes and a racquet. If they're playing Hot Shots or those sorts of things, it is affordable for families to get their children into tennis. In terms of memberships, they're pretty reasonable. If you look at gym memberships and any other affiliated clubs, we're very much on a par with other clubs in terms of our fees. We're working on getting more tournaments and more things for juniors to play and at a very low cost. I think it's definitely accessible.
Where did you grow up and go to school?
I'm a Dunedin girl, born and bred. I come from a very large Catholic family. There were 10 of us in total. I'm at the very bottom of the family. I'm the baby. I went to school initially down in Port Chalmers. We went to St Joseph's there and then St Joseph's in town. Then I went to Moreau College, which is no longer. Trinity was Kavanagh College when I was there.
And tennis?
My mother was an Otago tennis player. I used to pinch her racquet and I would go up to Mornington-Roslyn. That was the first tennis club that I ever played for. I was probably about 10 when I first started playing. I played in clubs for years until I moved to Australia. I played over there for a bit, which was really cool. I took a number of years off tennis and ended up running and getting into mountain biking, road cycling and multisports. I just picked up a racquet about three years ago and got back into it. It'll be something I'll play into my 80s if I'm still kicking. Honestly, I believe tennis keeps you young.
Tennis heroes?
When I was younger, I was really into Boris Becker. People would laugh and go, oh my god, really? He was kind of my hero back in the day. And Steffi Graf. I followed the Germans. But I'm generally just obsessed with watching tennis. I probably spend far too much time watching tennis instead of playing. The people at the top now ... they’re just so amazing. I saw some pretty cool matches when I was living in Melbourne. I saw Andre Agassi playing Goran Ivanisevic. I've been to the Australian Open. I actually saw a final — Jim Courier in a game that went to the bitter end.
Before this job, what have you done for a career?
Mostly in horticulture. I still currently run my own gardening business. I'm doing two jobs at the moment. Horticulture has kind of been my thing. I taught at polytech, but also prior to having my gardening business, I was a horticulture instructor at the prison. And then later, I took a secondment as a gym instructor, which was fantastic.
