Tennis Reborn
Bronze medals 20 years after the Khmer Rouge tried to kill tennis in Cambodia
Reaksmey and Srey Noich are not household tennis names. But their story is part of one of tennis’ most astonishing success stories. It begins in Cambodia in what has been named Year Zero. The year that communist revolutionary Pol Pot and his Khmer Rouge regime embarked on a four-year period of extreme brutality in the name of eradicating all traces of modern society and starting anew.
The Killing Fields
1975 to 1979 was a period of intense suffering as the Khmer Rouge regime sought to transform Cambodia into an agrarian utopia, eradicating all traces of modern society in its wake. They forcibly evacuated cities and towns, forcing millions of people into rural agricultural labor camps known as ‘killing fields’ in the belief that urban dwellers were tainted by capitalist influence. It is estimated that between 1.7 to 2.2 million people - approximately a quarter of Cambodia's population at the time - died as a result of execution, forced labor, starvation, or disease during this period.
The death of sport
The Khmer Rouge also killed sport and recreational activities, considering them to be bourgeois and a distraction from their revolutionary goals. Organized sports were largely abolished, and sporting facilities were neglected or repurposed.
Physical education programs in schools were eliminated, and competitive sports were banned. Sports fields and stadiums were often converted into rice paddies or used for other purposes. Athletes, coaches, and sports enthusiasts were targeted and persecuted along with other groups deemed undesirable by the regime. Many athletes and sports professionals were executed or forced into hard labor like the rest of the population.
Recovery
When the regime finally ended in 1979, Cambodia and its people started to rebuild. But it would be a long road to recovery. The revival of sports was severely impacted by lack of resources, widespread malnutrition, and poor living conditions. Tennis, alongside other sports, had to rebuild its entire footprint from ground zero.
Tennis’ comeback
Fast forward 20 years, and tennis in the Kingdom is thriving once again. Reaksmey and Srey Noich are proof. The two 18-year-old players, are home-grown talent who have just walked away from the SEA Games with bronze medals for their country.
“The revival of sports was severely impacted by lack of resources, widespread malnutrition, and poor living conditions. Tennis, alongside other sports, had to rebuild its entire footprint from ground zero.”
A new development pathway
The tennis development program that saw these two young Cambodian girls reach this level of international competition was born out of the work started by Senior Tennis Pro, Scott Windus, more than 10 years ago in the very poor, post-war, and rural North-Western region of Cambodia. Working with the National Tennis Federation in Cambodia, Coach Scott as he is known locally, trained the first coaches in the region, who had never seen a tennis racquet or court before. He built relationships with village leaders to get mud courts set up, and the Cambodian Government’s Ministry of Education Youth and Sport department to gain access to the schooling system. This, crucially, allowed them to implant the ITF JTI program within the school curriculum.
Srey Noich, Coach Som, Reaksmey
Srey Noich
ITF award recognizes ‘Services to the Game’
Today, the Tennis Cambodia North West (TCNW) program has seen more than 10,000 local children introduced to tennis, supports five full time local coaches, and has provided the Cambodian National Team with many elite junior boys and girls who have had the experience of representing their country at international events. It also receives international accolades as a standout participation model for which Coach Scott received the prestigious ITF ‘Services to the Game’ award in 2019.
Continued funding
Coming back to Australia in 2020, Coach Scott and his family continued to personally fund the project through the difficult Covid years and, based back in Cambodia again, he now acts as a mentor and consultant to the local coaching team ensuring the program’s continued sharpness. Now, as Laykold’s Development Manager for the Asian region, Scott has established a funding source for the program through profit funds rebated through Laykold court installations in the country.
Coach Som, Head Coach and Development Manager for Tennis Cambodia North West, explains the impact of the funding raised from the SEA Games Laykold court installation at Morodok Stadium:
Reaksmey
Tep Rithi Vit (Tennis Cambodia Secretary General) Srey Noich and Reaksmey
“The funds have helped to create full-time jobs and financial security for our coaches. After six years, Tennis Cambodia North West finally has an office again to facilitate the work of its coaches and a brand new court. And the financial boost is having a direct impact on kids as training programs have been resurrected across three districts and 15 schools after a three-year absence.”
He continues;
“Further up the development pathway, The North West Provincial Team have benefitted from new equipment and essential contributions towards their travel. The funds have mobilized their training program.”
A win for girls’ and women’s tennis in Cambodia
Scott told us what it meant to him to see two of the female athletes who came directly from his development programme receive Bronze medals at the 2023 SEA Games;
“Our chief goal with our North West tennis development program is to build lives to the full from the ashes of war-torn social settings. Reaksmey and Srey Noichs’ accomplishments of securing a medal at the 2023 SEA Games, and being home grown female athletes who came through the local system is incredible. We hope this will propel their influence over, not just our North West region, but to girls and women all over the country.”
Persistence wins
Born in a country that had tennis snatched away from it, it has not been an easy journey for these two teenage female athletes. They have managed to continue playing tennis against all odds - pushing back against the social norms that see most girls in the region leaving school at 12 years old to support the family at home to enable both parents to work and earn an income to survive.
After winning her Bronze medal at the 2023 SEA Games, Reaksmey told us;
“Tennis has given me a unique opportunity to lead the way and provide an example to other women and girls that they can choose a different path. The sport has opened a new future for me and, hopefully, to those who are inspired to follow in my footsteps.”
With a winding road that battled against national school closures over the challenging COVID period, Reaksmey and Srey Noich, her National teammate both from the North West, successfully transitioned to complete their senior school year in the capital city this year, where they could be part of the National Athlete training programme and prepare well for the 2023 SEA Games.
Srey Noich explained;
“I have had to fight hard to be here, to stay in education and retain my status as a National Athlete. I have learnt a lot along the way and it has been so worth it. This year I will graduate and I have an SEA Bronze medal to my name. My goal is to continue learning and playing tennis to the best of my ability. This has been my dream since I was a young girl. And I am living that dream now.”
Laykold was the official court surface provider of the 2023 SEA Games at the Morodok Stadium, Phnom Penh.