"It's been a year since I left Wellington on a tennis scholarship to Pepperdine University - and it feels like plenty has happened in that time. The University is in an amazing location, just a few hundred metres up the hill from Malibu beach, 30 minutes drive north of LA.

"It feels like a pretty special place with 8,000 students from 50 countries and from every state in the US. The University has a strong academic reputation and with less than 20 students in most lectures - there's no hope of slacking off in class! I'm enrolled in a four-year Business degree..."

So begins a fascinating update from Finn Tearney (above), a great young Kiwi tennis player, reflecting on his first year studying on a tennis Scholarship in the USA.

To read the full article on the Kandallah Tennis Club website, click here