Junior Talent Shines at Summer Tournament….but not the sun!

Lots of our talented juniors competed in our Summer Tennis tournament last Saturday: 10 in the Orange ball event, 5 in Green ball and 6 in Yellow ball. Orange and green balls are better suited to younger age groups than yellow balls, and the approximate age groupings are Orange (age 8 to 10), Green (9 to 11) and Yellow (12+).

We ran two round-robin groups of five children in the Orange ball event, so each child played 4 matches against the others in their group. Each match was played first to 7 points. William was undefeated with 4 wins and 28 points in the RADUCANU group, and Barnaby was a close second with 3 wins and 24 points. Katie, Adelaide and Kurst all played very well with some excellent rallies. In the ALCARAZ group Anna, Kurt and Daniel played some excellent shots, while Rupert and Baxter played a nail-biting encounter, with Rupert winning a deciding sudden death point to win the group with 4 wins and 28 points. All ten children then entered the play-offs to determine their final placings, with Baxter narrowly defeating William in a semi-finals and Barnaby winning against brother Rupert in the second semi-final. And so to the final between Barnaby and Baxter, with Barnaby now fully into his stride. The final top five placings were ….

Winner – Barnaby
Runner-Up – Baxter
3rd – William
4th – Rupert
5th – Adelaide (who some say hit the best backhand of the day!)

There were five children in the Green ball event and the standard was excellent, with long, skilful rallies and very impressive retrieval skills.

Once again the format was a round-robin group, and each match was played first to 10 points. The crunch match was between Arka and Finley, with Arka coming through to triumph and so winning the event overall. This was a reversal of their epic match in the Spring tournament. The winner and runner up were ….

Winner – Arka
Runner-Up – Finley

The Yellow ball event was a round-robin group of 6, played on the outdoor courts in very gusty and drizzly conditions. Each match was played first to 10 points. Cansu, as the only girl up against 5 boys, played excellently and was the only player to beat Oliver S. She and Oliver M won three of their group matches, but Riddha and Oliver S progressed with four wins each. Although Oliver S beat Riddha narrowly in the group stage, Riddha stepped up a gear to win the final. The final top three placings were ….

Winner – Riddha
Runner-Up – Oliver S
3rd – Cansu

Well done to all those who entered in all groups. …. Katie, Daniel, Freddie, Kurt, Anna, Theo, Joseph R, Aydin, Oliver M, Rowan and Joseph A we saw some great shots and dedicated play from you all.