By Bill Roumeliotis
Greek Australian Eleni Makantasis is talented, dynamic, optimistic, and stubborn. At just 13 years old, she is a tennis athlete ranked in the Top 5 in Australia for her age and looks up to Ashleigh Barty as her role model.
I met Eleni at her training centre and was amazed by her talent. I spoke with her after practice and here’s what she shared.
“I was born in Melbourne to parents of Greek descent. My father, Stan Makantasis, is from Pefki, Evia, and my mother, Maria, is from the village of Boros in Lesvos, now known as Neochori,” she said.
Eleni is also a student at the Greek Orthodox College of Oakleigh Grammar.
Regarding her achievements, despite her young age, Eleni’s trophy cabinet is full with trophies as she has won titles in singles and doubles in the state of Victoria and national Australian titles.
Additionally, Eleni represented Australia in 2023 in Dublin and in 2024 in Germany. From Germany, she travelled to Athens, where she competed in the Greek Youth Championship and faced top Greek female tennis players. With three victories, she reached the semi-finals of the tournament but due to illness, she was unable to compete in the semi-final, missing the chance to contend for the title of Greek champion.
However, her most significant moment was participating in her place of origin, Mytilene, in the international tournament “Cosmote Mytilene Junior Cup.”
“I faced athletes who were 18 years old and achieved one win and one loss, but for me, it was a great joy to compete in my place of origin in Mytilene, where I was baptised at Saint Raphael’s, and most importantly, the Australian flag was raised on the courts,” she said.
When we asked how she balances school and sports, Eleni answered: “It’s not easy, but my school and teachers help me with various programs, and I manage to keep up.”
Regarding her goals, Eleni confidently stated: “Since I was little, I had Ashleigh Barty as my role model, and my goal is to be like her and become No. 1 in the world. I want it very much, and I will try to achieve it.”
Our last question was how she started playing tennis, and Eleni shared: “I remember having a racket in my hand since I was little. My older sister played tennis, and I caught the tennis bug, and I haven’t parted with the racket since I was just three years old.”
This is Eleni who has a busy schedule in Sydney and Perth over the next two weeks.
