However, tennis has been put on the radar of several of the tiny nations in the region thanks to the ongoing efforts of the International Tennis Federation (ITF).

Recently-appointed ITF Development Officer for the Pacific-Oceania region, Gary Purcell, made the move from Ireland to Melbourne in 2014 and has a passion for discovering unearthed talent within aspiring tennis players from Fiji, Solomon Islands, Cook Islands, Tahiti, Samoa and Tonga, just to name a few.

Purcell was only too happy to continue the region’s strong relationship with the Border’s Margaret Court Cup which dates back to 2000.

“There’s a strong tradition of us bringing Island kids out here to play on the grass and get some experience in Australian ranking point tournaments,” Purcell said.

“It’s more about exposure for our kids because they end up playing each other a lot.

“Kids from the Solomon Islands only have two tennis courts on the entire island.

“For us to come here and play this tournament gets us exposure to some Australian players and the high standard of tennis.”

The ITF team has brought across nine players in the under 12s and under 14s age groups, while Tennis Fiji has a further two coaches and five players embarking on a separate tour of Australia.

“Tennis Fiji do a great job and Tennis Australia help out a lot, along with the ITF,” Purcell said.

“We’re getting our kids from the ITF to a good standard, so when they play tournaments it boosts the whole area.

“One or two have played in Australia before, but the majority of the team is on their first tour.”

Purcell was a tennis coach in Ireland before heading to Australia where he continued to mentor and direct several tournaments in Melbourne.

The new role with the ITF has certainly kept him busy after relocating to Fiji last September, where he oversees tennis development throughout the whole Pacific.

“It’s basically just a bigger step of what I was doing,” Purcell said.

“I was in tennis development in Melbourne at the Hume Tennis Community Centre in Craigieburn.

“Now I’m looking after 16 countries instead of 16 tennis courts,” he laughed.

Purcell is based in the ITF scholarship house in Lautoka, the second biggest city in Fiji.

“We try to get more of a professional feel in the house because the kids are there to study and train and get better,” he said.

“Part of my role is to make sure our kids get funding from the ITF as part of the Grand Slam Development Fund (GSDF) and Oceania Tennis Federation also look after some of it.”

Purcell paid special to Margaret Court Cup coordinator Phil Shanahan and the numerous host families in Albury and Wodonga that allow the Pacific group to stay with them.

“It makes it so much more affordable for us, but it also gives our kids a real Australian feel,” he said.

“We could stay in hotels, but they get a much better family feel and get into the Aussie way of life a bit more, so I think that works really well.”

The group will also contest the Victorian Junior Grasscourt Championships in Wodonga next week, before spending two days watching the Australian Open.