Kade Starling has quickly become an ace for Kyabram Lawn Tennis Club. Photos: Oliver Shedden.
Thirteen-year-old tennis ace Kade Starling has been tearing up the court recently and has begun to cement himself as one to watch in the Kyabram community.
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Kade is barely a teenager but already has a whole bag of accomplishments on the tennis court as well as being a strong all-round sportsman as a midfielder for the Kyabram Bombers and in netball for Girgarre.
Not only does Kade play for the Bombers, but he also made the representative interleague side last season as well as playing in the V Squad Junior Football Academy in Melbourne.
The young gun has won six premierships in a row in his tennis career, with his crowning achievement so far coming in the season just gone, earning runner-up best-and-fairest honours in the Goulburn Murray section two division one senior Kyabram Bombers tennis team.
Ever the humble character, Kade said he was looking forward to next season where he would chase a seventh consecutive premiership.
“Getting the runner-up best-and-fairest was really good, I was happy with that,” he said.
“Winning the six premierships in a row is pretty cool, it’s a good achievement, and I’ll try and go for seven next year, but I guess we’ll have to find out
“I’ll still be playing here next year, so I’m looking forward to that.”
He started playing competition tennis at age five with his twin sister, Taylor. His development was accelerated due to his father, David, being a seasoned tennis coach.
The twins have won the junior section four, section three and section two premierships in consecutive seasons for Kyabram.
Kade Starling playing in Kyabram Lawn Tennis Club’s 2025 Easter Tournament.
Photo by
Oliver Shedden
Kade wasn’t old enough to play in section one despite having ample skill, so he was moved to Tongala where he was the side’s standout best player and won three junior section one premierships in that time.
Coming into the 2024-25 season, Kade, now back in Kyabram, wanted to play with his family, made up of David, mother Sheree and Taylor, but a string of injuries to his sister and dad meant it was just Kade and Sheree left to play the season in senior section two.
The side made it to the semi-finals in that competition, losing to Euroa Blue 7-4.
Kade highlighted the jump in competition playing in the seniors and how he liked to tactically counteract the strength of older players.
“Playing senior section two was different hitting-wise, but it was pretty good,” he said.
“The main difference was how the older people play; their core craft is better, and they are definitely stronger compared to juniors.
“I like to defend a lot and get to many balls, and then try and turn that into offence when I can.
“I’ve seen a big jump in skill over the last year or so, it’s good to keep developing.”
Despite losing in the semi-finals in the seniors, Kade was part of the Kyabram Lawn Tennis side that won the Shepparton Junior Tennis Association A-grade competition.
He also found success in the 2025 Victorian State Tennis Teams Championships, representing Loddon-Campaspe, winning the section two under-14 boys doubles tournament alongside Eoin Ryan.
In the under-14 Victorian Junior Tour Year-End Finals ranking, Kade was ranked 69 with a point score of 182.5.
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