Helen Asciak, formerly Degiorgio, is a household name in the local tennis fraternity. Since 1972, which is when she started playing the game, up until now, she has been very active, first as a player and now as a non-playing captain and coach.
As everyone probably knows, Helen is married to Gordon Asciak, a 13 times Malta singles champion who also did Malta proud with his vast number of achievements.
And here I cannot fail to mention that their younger son Matthew who, at only 14, is the Malta No. 1 junior player and champion and has also managed to climb up the world rankings. He has done that mainly thanks to his successful participation in several tournaments abroad. He will now be taking part in the Orange Bowl event in the US in a few weeks’ time.
Yet, it had to be Helen’s sister Vicky who introduced her to the game of tennis. She said: “My father and mother were not interested, although my father, Dennis, was a well known sportsman – a waterpolo player with Sliema ASC and Malta. My other sisters are Vicky, Theresa, Lucienne and Denise and of them, only Vicky and Denise used to play tennis.
“Vicky used to take me along with her and I got interested in the game. Her daughter, Sarah (Wetz), is also one of the present top women tennis players in Malta nowadays.”
Helen, well known for her steady baseline play which frustrated many an opponent – it was always her forte – says that she was spotted by Gordon Mudge the following year and he took her under his wing. “That year, I was taken for a whole month to the south of England where I took part in tournaments in Torquay, Plymouth and Dawlish, and I won the events in Plymouth and Dawlish. In the group, there was also Gordon, his sister Rosanne and Dennis Galea, the best elements in the game at that time. It was my first taste of international tennis. Obviously I was impressed, especially by the difference in the levels of the men when compared to those of the women. I think there is still a vast difference today,” she said.
When did you win your first Malta title? She did not take long to answer that question as she considers it as one of the great highlights of her career: “It was in 1976 when I was still 13 years old. After that I went on to win that coveted title 10 years in a row. Then I had to wait till 1993 to win it again (the first time as Helen Asciak) beating my old time friend Carol Curmi in that year’s final. In between I stopped playing for a year at a time while I was pregnant, first with Gordon jnr, and later with Matthew. In fact, those were probably the only occasions when I had to miss out on representing Malta in the Federation Cup,” she said.
Helen has had an outstanding career. In fact, she must be one of the people who have most represented the country, considering her participation in numerous international tournaments. “These included several Federation Cup events, the European Championships, the Games for European Small States and other tournaments, like Junior Wimbledon and the Under 14 Australian Open.
“Those were memorable events. Some of them I remember more than the others for some particular reason. For example, in Turkey I remember I had a good run of nine wins out of nine matches in the Federation Cup. As a junior I was at my best, especially in the European championships. In the 1977 event, I had won five out of six matches, beating English, Italian and Swiss opponents in the process. I had lost to the Dutch No. 2.
“I also remember with great pride my participation in the Under 14 Australian Open. I still say it was the best thing I ever did. It was like a Grand Slam event, though for juniors. But I managed to climb all the way to the final where I lost to Freeman, the Australian No. 1,” she said.
Helen then went on to describe her participation in junior Wimbledon. “It was not easy to take part in that event, especially in those days where to be selected, one had to have a certain number of ranking points. Unfortunately, I never managed to get past the first round in the three times I took part – in 1979, 1980 and 1981, that is, when I was 16, 17 and 18 years old. But I am proud that I was accepted to play there on three occasions,” she said.
Helen, who continuously thanked her father Dennis for his encouragement when she was young, said she was always seeking to improve the quality of her game during the ten years of domination – when she ran away with the Malta title, and was also labelled the “Queen of Tennis in Malta”. “It is always nice to win a title of your country. But there was also another big moment in 1987 when together with Carol (Curmi) I won the gold medal in the doubles event at the Small Nations Games in Monaco. We had not managed to go beyond the semi-finals in the singles event and we had been awarded a bronze medal each. But in the final of the doubles event, we beat the Luxembourg duo in a closely fought three-setter, giving Malta its first gold medal of the Games. It was really emotional to receive the gold medal on foreign soil, with the Maltese flag being hoisted while the Maltese national anthem was being played. That was another great day in my career,” she said.
After that, Helen and Carol continued their domination of the doubles event in these Games, winning gold in Cyprus (1989), Andorra (1991) and Malta (1993). “Coming to the Malta Games – that was another great moment, not just for me, but for Maltese tennis in general. It was a great day when Gordon and I each won a gold medal in the doubles events. I had left my young children at home. I played the first final, with Carol, and we registered a victory – the fourth in succession. Then Gordon played in the men’s final with Chris Gatt and they also won. It was also the first gold medal won by the men in tennis at these Games. I was highly pleased for the boys to have won that medal. It was the one and only. And one had to take into consideration that it was very difficult for two Maltese players to be successful against experienced foreign opponents. The Luxembourg pair were very strong, but Gordon and Chris were stronger on the day.
“Ours was an easy win in the final. Monaco had Guardigli who had a very good level, but her partner was not of the same standard and we made the most of it.
“It was made even more memorable because of the participation of the public. The Marsa centre court was packed to capacity on that occasion and the public really appreciated our efforts. Their support was fantastic,” she said.
Helen stopped travelling to foreign tournaments after she was 18 years old, but she still continued representing Malta in the Games for Small European countries, the Federation Cup and the European Championship. “I am no longer playing now. My last foreign participation was in 2001 when I played doubles with Rosanne Dimech in the Federation Cup in South Africa. At present, at the age of 41, I am the non-playing captain of the Malta women’s team, having been appointed by the association earlier this year.
“But I am also helping Gordon as a coach in the Gordon Asciak Tennis School, which has become very popular ,with more than 100 children taking part,” she said.
Helen said running such a school was hard work. “You have to cope with all situations. You have to coach in the sun and in the rain, as well as in the winds. We cannot make exceptions, as we try to give the children a sound knowledge of the game in the hope that they may also turn out to be champions in future,” she said.
Helen Asciak – a profile
Date of birth: 29 January, 1963
Education: Sacred Heart Convent.
Playing career: She started playing tennis at the tender age of nine (now considered late) and played at the Marsa Sports Club under the able guidance of coach Gordon Mudge.
A year later, she went abroad for a month – her first taste of international tennis – taking part in tournaments in Torquay, Plymouth and Dawlish in the south of England and winning two of them.
In a career spanning almost 30 years, Asciak has won the Malta women’s singles title 11 times, the first time in 1976 when she was still only 13 years old. Then, of course, she was still Helen Degiorgio.
She has represented the country at several international events, including the Federation Cup, the European Championship and the Games for European Small Nations.
Her biggest achievement, apart from the Malta titles, was the gold medal won with Carol Curmi in Monaco in the 1987 Games for European Small States in the women’s doubles event. It was also Malta’s first gold medal in these Games.
Awards: She was named Sportswoman of the Year in 1977 when she was just 14 years old and was runner-up on several occasions. In 1993, she was awarded the gold medal (Gieh ir-Repubblika) by the then President of the Republic, Dr Censu Tabone.
Helen is married to former Malta tennis champion Gordon Asciak. They have two children, Gordon jnr, 18, and Matthew, the Malta junior tennis champion, who is 14.