Cody Atkinson takes another step forward with Junior Davis Cup selection

A young tennis player who used to live in Paraparaumu Beach is now part of New Zealand’s Junior Davis Cup team.

Cody Atkinson, 15, moved to the Gold Coast with family some years ago to get more tennis training and playing opportunities.

Atkinson has put in a lot of hard work and has had his share of success in various competitions.

When Kāpiti News contacted him, he was playing in the Junior Davis Cup in Kazakhstan with the New Zealand team.

He was selected for the team in March.

“I was really excited, and it was certainly a proud moment.

“I love playing team tennis and it’s really fun to be in that environment.”

Atkinson’s Universal Tennis Rating has him as the number-one ranked player in New Zealand in his age group.

He has the highest International Tennis Federation junior ranking for New Zealand players under 16.

Atkinson was runner-up in the New Zealand under-16 nationals last year.

“The player who won is too old for the Junior Davis Cup this year.

“I also train on clay in Australia and the Junior Davis Cup is played on clay.”

Atkinson has had a number of highlights so far.

“I got to do the coin toss [at] Rod Laver Arena at the Australian Open for the quarter-final between between Novak [Djokovic] and [Kei] Nishikori a few years back.”

Two years ago, he was part of the Queensland team that won the national teams event.

“I didn’t lose a match and was awarded most valuable player of the tournament.”

In 2022 he won the New Zealand national under-14 singles and doubles categories, and in 2023 was runner-up in the under-16 national singles and won the doubles.

Last year he spent three months in Europe and a month in the Caribbean touring and playing, and last month won his first Junior ITF titles on the junior world tour in both singles and doubles in Fiji.

Atkinson trains at the KDV Sports complex on the Gold Coast six days a week and puts in anywhere between four to seven hours of work a day, including on the court, in the gym, and also conditioning and recovery.

He has a fulltime private coach in Glenn Hamilton, who has “previously worked for Tennis Australia and for the Junior ITF as a touring coach”.

Atkinson, who is home-schooled because of his travelling commitments, will be playing in France for five weeks after his Junior Davis Cup commitments.

His long-term goal is to be the number-one player in the world, but this year it was to win an ITF tournament, play in the Junior Davis Cup and help New Zealand qualify for the world finals.

Atkinson and his family have been living on the Gold Coast for seven years but come “home” to Kāpiti each Christmas.