At age 11 Yug Thapa started playing tennis when his Dad suggested he join the Twizel Hot Shots Tennis club.

Some of you may or not know that Twizel Area School has a rising Tennis talent amongst us. 

At age 11 Yug Thapa started playing tennis when his Dad suggested he join the Twizel Hot Shots Tennis club. It was obvious that Yug had a natural talent for tennis and the following year he entered into his first tournament. Fast forward to 2026 and Yug’s J30 ITF world tennis number is currently 23.8 and to say he has had an eventful and exciting start to this year would be an understatement. Yug took the opportunity to travel to Nepal with his Dad (coach) to compete in a Clay court tournament. There, he faced older and more experienced players than himself. He found the experience challenging yet fun as well. And when playing on clay for the first time he discovered his style of tennis was more favourable to this surface.  Yug trains whenever he can but 5 times a week would be the norm and he will spend two to three hours each session mastering his techniques.This sort of commitment and dedication is certainly paying off. His latest Tournament in Dunedin found himself Third in the Otago Men's Open Singles.This is an incredible achievement at such a young age and Twizel Area School are very proud of him. We recognise all the hard work you have put into your chosen sport and wish you all the best. When asked about his future goals Yug expressed his dreams of playing College Tennis in the states. I say “go for it” Yug, TAS is right behind you and dreams do come true!

 Sarah Henderson