Annual Lower Great Southern Tennis Association junior singles tournament a smash hit

Juniors from all over the region gathered at Lawley Park Tennis Club for the annual Lower Great Southern Tennis Association junior singles tournament on Sunday. The children were split into four groups depending on their current level of coaching, and the competition was played in perfect conditions. There were some close and exciting matches throughout the day as juniors competed against players of their own standard. Thirty-five children from Albany, Denmark, Kendenup and Tenterden hit the court. Kendenup's Anneliese Slade comfortably defeated George King from Tenterden in the red-ball group final. Lawley Park members Ysabella Gavin and Gabriel Gao faced off in the orange-ball group final, with Gavin winning 6-2. Austin Slade from Kendenup took out the consolation medal in the orange-ball group having played solid tennis all day. In the green-ball group final, two of the region’s rising stars competed in the final, with Denby Sharpe defeating Tea Zizek 6-0. The score line did not reflect the high standard of tennis played between the two Lawley Park juniors, with long rallies and heavy serving from both players resulting in a very entertaining final for the spectators to enjoy. Paige Michael, also from Lawley Park, played some great tennis throughout the day, resulting in her winning the consolation event over Olivia Riggall from Tenterden. Lawley Park junior Clare Hadlow dominated the yellow-ball group, winning all her round robin matches and accounting for Denmark's Kai Jones 6-0 in the final. Hadlow was in fine form on the day with her heavy hitting from the baseline a highlight of the day. Newcomer to Albany Oscar Kerin won the consolation event in an enthralling final against Yuma Jones from Denmark. Nothing separated the two players with a match tiebreaker needed to decide the winner. The sportsmanship award for the day was handed to Jessica Adebija. LGSTA regional coach Vincent Brochard was impressed with the standard of play across all four groups and complimented all the juniors on their continued improvement.