It might seem an unlikely path to take, but Beth Smith has used her business and tourism studies at The University of Queensland to land a dream job in tennis and meet stars such as Marcos Baghdatis and Andy Roddick.
The 26-year-old from West End is the administration co-ordinator for the Brisbane International, working at the Queensland Tennis Centre at Tennyson on the city’s premier tennis event.
It gave her a chance to meet Baghdatis, Roddick, Radek Stepanek, Kim Clijsters and Justine Henin during competition from January 3-10.
Miss Smith knew from an early age she wanted to work in tennis, but realised her skills on court would not allow her to make a living as a professional player.
Instead, she graduated with a Bachelor of Business Management in 2007, studying event, leisure and recreation management at UQ’s School of Tourism.
``I used to play tennis and thought, `if I can’t play it for work, I will go into management’. I just love tennis,’’ Miss Smith said.
``This year’s Brisbane International was awesome. You are in the hallway and Andy Roddick walks past. Kim Clijsters was lovely. Radek Stepanek is a really funny guy. Marcos Baghdatis is very friendly.
``You walk past them and they are real people. It’s nice to know.’’
Miss Smith said a team of only four people worked all year round on organising the Brisbane International, giving her a good grounding in all areas.
``You see all the aspects: the sponsorships, ball kids, volunteers and attracting the players. The biggest positive for me was spending time on all the details and seeing it all come together.
``We had the dream women’s final with Kim Clijsters and Justine Henin and Andy Roddick winning the men’s title.
``To have Clijsters and Henin and Roddick playing in Brisbane is a major thing: having them in Brisbane, in our back yard. We don’t have to go to Melbourne to see them.’’
Miss Smith started playing tennis at school at the age of eight and continued it through her teenage years.
``I was not super good, but I loved it.’’
She studied management at UQ, saying it gave her ``a good grounding in events and a solid base of general knowledge you need to know’’.
After working as a volunteer at the Brisbane International in January last year, Miss Smith landed her role as administration co-ordinator in April.
Media: Beth Smith (3120 7930, 0438 753 172) or Erik de Wit (0417 088 772)
