It's been close to 20 years since former IFT player Natalie Grandin landed on the Border for the first time whilst competing on the women's tennis circuit.
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The South African tennis star now returns to Albury-Wodonga as a coach, bringing young South African players to the Margaret Court Cup and Victorian Grass Court championships.
Reaching a career high WTA singles ranking of 144 in 2005 and doubles ranking of 22 in 2012, Grandin said she still remembers her time spent here.
"I've stayed with the family that I stayed with 20 years ago," Grandin said.
The South African team consists of four players from Durban who have made the trip out with Grandin and fellow coach Gary Comins.
It's the first time visiting Australia for Sian Kruger, Ansuya Chetty, Nkosiyethu Gumede and Haveshan Chetty, while also being the first time overseas for some of them.
Playing on grass courts has also been a new experience for the team who play predominantly on hard courts back in South Africa.
Coming off the back of the Margaret Court Cup and now contesting the Victorian Grass Court Championships, Grandin said the players are loving the experience.
"They're getting into the swing of things and learning to move forward and come to the net," Grandin said.
"Just playing different people and making new friends, that's what it's all about.
"We hope to keep bringing players, hopefully more will come because it's such a great opportunity for the kids.
"Not only tennis, but you learn a lot about life and make friends.
"You never know what's going to happen down the line.
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"We're just glad to give them the opportunity to come here."
Following the tournament in Wodonga the South African team will head to Melbourne to check out the Australian Open for the first time.
Grandin said her players were looking forward to the trip before returning home.
"We don't have a lot of international players coming to South Africa for them to see the level that they need to work towards," Grandin said.
"It's nice for them to see what their goals have to be and how hard they have to work, so it'll be a good experience for them."
The Victorian Junior Grass Court Championships entered it's second day after air quality impacted play on Wednesday.
Number one men's seed Matthew Scheers was knocked out of the AMT singles main draw by Adam Walters, while Border product Jade Culph lost to Kaden Hensel in the second round.
In the women's AMT singles, Margaret Court Cup winner Ashleigh Simes has advanced to the semi-finals.
