"I would go down to the courts and have little hits with my parents when I was a kid, then I started playing juniors (for Horsham's Central Park) when I was about 12," he said.

At the age of 14 he joined Drung South and started playing in the senior competition.

"I was probably on the younger side compared to the people I was playing with and against," he said.

"My dad (Wally Emmerson) hadn't played tennis for ages, so when I was old enough and good enough to join seniors we decided to look for a club together.

"We ended up playing for two years together in A Special before he stopped."

Emmerson joined Drung South's pennant team when he was 16. He said the team had a good track record, but had unfortunately never won a grand final since he joined.

"We've played a few grand finals but never quite got there. We got close two years ago, but lost on games," he said.

"Last year we lost to Kalkee in the qualifying finals and they went on to win - we lost that on games as well."

Emmerson's teammates include Logan Casey, Sandra Casey, Kate-Lyn Perkin, Georgia McLennan and Janelle Knight.

"It's been hard this year to get a team together, so it's been whoever can play; we don't really have a set team at the moment," he said.

"We haven't been playing great so far. If we can get most of our team right, maybe towards the end of the year we might be doing okay and make the finals."

Emmerson said he wasn't going to give up playing tennis anytime soon.

"I just love the strategy and skill of the game, along with the exercise that comes with playing. I definitely love it," he said.

He also plays table tennis during the winter season.

Drung South will play Horsham Lawn Thompson on Saturday at home.

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