One of Australia’s leading tennis players with intellectual impairment (PWII), Andriana Petrakis took part in an International Women’s Day event at Adelaide Oval last week.
As a special guest speaker, the young Greek-Australian shared her story the various guests, talking about her life, tennis and living with Autism.
“I had a wonderful day and everyone felt inspired by my speech,” Petrakis told Neos Kosmos.
“My highlights were meeting all the different women and younger girls from private schools and also speaking enthusiastically in front of them.
“They all came up to me and said – ‘Great job Andriana, you have inspired all of us.”
Other guests included Lauren Spear from The Orange Butterfly organisation, Ruby Underwood, an NDIS participant, and Jessica Braithwaite from Channel 9 Adelaide, who Petrakis got to meet.
In January, Petrakis competed in the Australian Open 2024 PWII Championships, an event for the world’s best players with an intellectual impairment.
In 2023 she won her first title at the same event and this year she finished fourth overall in her singles and doubles.
While at the Australian Open, Petrakis also met Greek tennis star Stefanos Tsitsipas which she says was a “thrilling experience.”
“My mum and I spoke to him in Greek which made us feel strongly connected with the Greek language.”
