Rebecca Julian

Member Profile: Rebecca Julian

1. Date of Birth.	2/12/1986
2. Which club(s) have you played for in Croydon?	Knox, Mooroolbark
3. How did you become involved with table tennis?	My sports teacher at school suggested it to me so I went to a Saturday session and then decided to join CDTTA. Three years later I was asked by Fran Keyhoe if I would like to play in the Inaugural Athletes with a Disability National Championships because of this I was encouraged to participate in International events for Paralympic Table Tennis.
4. And at what age was this?	13
5. Who was your coach(s)?	Trevor Brown & Frank Pearce
6. What is your highest Australian Ranking?	No 1 Class 6 and No 1 Women’s Class 6 – 10
7. What is your highest World Ranking?	No 2 Class 6
8. How many and which Paralympic Games did you participate in?	3 - Beijing 2008, London 2012 & Tokyo 2020
9. What advice would you give to an up-and-coming player/umpire?	Never let anything stand in the way of achieving your goals. Anything is possible and achievable. Through hard work and determination you can achieve anything you set out to do.
10. Career Highlights	International 3 x Paralympics - 2008, 2012, 2020 3 x World Para Championships – 2006, 2010, 2018 5^th at 2020 Tokyo Paralympics Class 6 US Open Singles C6-7 Gold – 2007 ITTF Oceania Para Championships Singles C6-8 Gold – 2017 Arafura Games Singles C6-7 Gold – 2009 Arafura Games Doubles C6-10 Gold – 2009 Arafura Games Teams C6-10 Gold - 2011 National 5 x Aust Womens Singles C6-10 Champion – 2003, 2004, 2007 – 2009 2 x Aust Women’s Doubles C6-10 Champion – 2005, 2006 1 x Aust Mixed Doubles C6-10 Champion – 2007 4 x Aust Singles C6 Champion – 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008 1 x Aust Singles C6-7 Champion – 2012 2 x Aust Teams C6-7 Champion – 2010, 2012
11. What do you do to prepare for a match?	I listen to music and do breathing exercises to help prepare my mind for the match I have ahead
12. Are there any differences in preparation that you would take before a finals match compared to a preliminary round? If so, what would these be?	No. I try to treat every match the same.
13. Who has been your toughest opponent?	Victorya Safanova from the Ukraine. She is the No 1 Class 6 and a good player
14. Can you tell us about your favorite match that you have played?	It was in the first round of the Paralympics in China. I drew the number 1 seed, a functional class higher than myself, Kelly Van Zon. I took her to 5 games and felt I had played the best table tennis I ever have.
15. Who is your favorite Table Tennis player?	Rainer Schmidt from Germany (Class 6).
16. Who has been the biggest influence and or inspiration throughout your sporting career?	Both my parents, my Mum for taking me to my first training session at Croydon after a Parent / Teacher meeting at school. My Dad, Trevor, who has always been there supporting me and helping me in every aspect. Without him, I would not have achieved so much in the sport.
17. Who is your favorite non table tennis sportsperson and why?	Cathy Freeman as she battled through adversity to be number one in her sport. Roger Federer for his commitment, profesionalism and dedication to tennis
18. Occupation?	Kindergarten Teacher
19. Player you played the most?	Stephanie Grebe ( Germany, Class 6)
20. What path did you take and what sacrifices did you make to become the player you did?	In order to achieve, I have had to sacrifice a lot. Because of my disability (Cerebral Palsy) I have faced many challenges. I am a very determined person and I have worked hard to accomplish my goals, giving up a lot in order to succeed and have had to balance my study and sporting commitments.

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