Born in Ballarat, Victoria, Zoe Hives is the third child of Neil and Jan Hives and the youngest of three. Zoe grew up on a small cattle farm in country Victoria and loves to come home and see her favourite cows. She attended the local Kingston Primary School until it closed, after which she enrolled at Creswick Primary School.

From the moment she learned what tennis was, Zoe loved going down to her mum and dad’s tennis court to swing her racquet. By the age of seven, she had already played her first indoor competition in Ballarat. In grade six, she was selected to represent Victoria in the Bruce Cup Tennis Competition.

Zoe attended Mount Clear Secondary College, which offered her the opportunity to continue playing tennis. Although the school struggled to maintain its tennis program, Zoe enjoyed the friends she made as well as the support from many of her teachers.

When she was 14, Zoe won the Spring National Under 14s Title, her first major tennis title. In 2012, she represented Australia at the Junior Fed Cup in Barcelona, Spain.

When Zoe hit 16, she began contemplating the possibility of playing tennis full time and doing her studies by correspondence, but ultimately decided against it. Instead, she stayed at school and completed her year 12 studies over two years, the second by correspondence.

With an enthusiastic coach and tremendous support, Zoe is now pursuing a full-time tennis career. In 2017, she packed up her bags and travelled alone to Europe to continue her tennis career, and while it was not always easy, she improved her world ranking and came home a more mature and competent tennis player.

In January 2018, Zoe won a strong $25,000 tournament in Playford, South Australia. She made her debut in Grand Slam Doubles Main Draw in doubles and mixed at the Australian Open. She followed this performance up by strong showings in two tournaments in Tasmania.

Zoe is currently completing a training block before competing in tournaments in Canberra and overseas.

Her ranking is currently 264 in the world.