When 14 year old Kalina Bolic flees the Yugoslav war to Australia, she must overcome racism, a damaged and overprotective father, and her own demons as she follows her impossible dream to win the Australian open. Inspired by the true story of a legend.

SYNOPSIS:

14 year old Kalina Bolic and her father, Emil flee to Australia from the Yugoslav war.

In Croatia, Kalina was a successful junior tennis player, coached by Emil. Despite being a dirt poor refugee, she harbours a crazy, impossible dream, to win the professional Australian Open.

In the wealthy, privileged world of tennis, she faces racism and ostracism, and is no match for the more polished, Australian players. But her greatest enemy is herself, whenever she loses points she hears voices in her head erupting like demons, 'you are nothing, you are worthless!' She resorts to the 'methods' Emil made her use in Yugoslavia, trash talking, disputing line calls, and coaching signals from Emil. She is disqualified by distinguished Australian Coach Carmen Turner. Emil labels the tournaments here as corrupt, and bans her from playing anymore tennis.

Defying him in secret, she tracks Carmen down, proving on court she is not a cheat nor a quitter and has plenty of raw talent. With Carmen coaching, her game greatly improves, but her mind if too tough to crack, she is too fragile for the lonely, endless game of tennis. Despite this Carmen picks her for a state tournament. Making the final she falters when faced with something she has never known before. Support. She hears not cheering, but the demons in her head, and loses.

She spurns Carmen's coaching, returning to Emil's ugly method of winning, and accrues so many points she is only one tournament win away from qualifying for the Australian Open. When she draws the world number one, Emil announces they have rigged it to stop her qualifying, she has no chance. She makes a deal with Emil, if she loses she will return home with him. In the match she is annihilated.

She refuses to leave Australia with Emil, and runs away to Carmen. Social services intervenes, she is faced with returning to him in a month. In the meantime, Carmen arranges a wildcard for her into the Australian Open. She breaks Kalina down physically and mentally, until she explodes, revealing the 'demons' she hears on court come from her mother, who physically and verbally abused her while Emil did nothing.

In the first round of the Australian Open, with Carmen's measured voice in her head, she wins the match and continues winning through the rest of the rounds, but injuring her ankle in the semi-final. If she plays the final she risks never playing tennis again. The she must confront Emil who wants her to come home with him. They play a match to decide it, she returns five serves from Emil, on her bad ankle, and he must let her go.

In the final she wins the first set, re-injures her ankle, then loses the second badly. In the third Kalina, hearing her own tired, yet calm voice, tries a crazy tactic, after each serve she moves forward to the net, taking out the serve and volley game, playing incredible returns by leaping cross court. At advantage, she plays an incredible diving shot, just before her ankle collapses to narrowly win the Australian Open.