Smashing success for junior tennis
Smashing success for junior tennis

Smashing success for junior tennis

Youngsters get more exposure
Yanna Smith
The Namibian Tennis Association (NTA) junior tournament sponsored by Sanlam was held at the Central Tennis Courts in Olympia from Friday 14 to Saturday, 15 October.

The weekend''s tournament was only for the Under-12 and U-14 age groups because the other age groups had their competition played out two weeks ago.

Playing the Sanlam tournament was important to all aspiring junior players since it was the last opportunity to win qualifying points for this year''s national ranking.

The best eight qualified juniors in all age groups will be invited to play the national youth championship on 28 October at the Trustco Junior Masters, the most important national tournament on the NTA Junior calendar.

Luca Monteforte showed that he is a strong contender to end the year as the number one player in the U-14 age group.

He dominated his group by winning all his matches.

The runner up in the group was Diken de Jongh, a player of the FNB Development programme.

Other upsets saw 11 year-old Elze Stears ending second in the U-14 group.

Lisa Yssel was a class above the rest of her competition in the U-14 group where she won all her matches without losing a set.

In U-12 Boys group Carlos Uirab caused an upset by beating Albertus Brinkmann 6-2, 6-2.

When asked how he managed to dethrone the number one ranked player, Uirab replied: “I used angled shots to make my opponent move and I played drop shots to bring him to the net. This way I was able to pass him”.

During the prize giving ceremony, the representative of Sanlam, Annemarie Saunders, commented that small players should have big dreams and one day present Namibia at international tournaments.

“We from Sanlam are proud to contribute to the future of Namibian tennis,” she said.

NTA president Sam Kaulinge handed over medals to all winners.

He thanked all parents and players who had joined the tournament singling out especially the players who had come all the way from Outjo.

The next event will be the Trustco Junior Masters on 28 October.



Results

Under-12 girls singles

Winner: Elze Stears

Under-12 boys singles

Winner: Carlos Uirab

Runner up: Albertus Brinkmann

Under-12 boys doubles

Winner: Carlos Uirab and Albertus Brinkmann

Runner up: Brandon Stevenson and Louis Minnaar

Under-14 girls singles

Winner: Lisa Yssel

Runner up: Elze Stears

Under-14 girls doubles

Winner: Lisa Yssel and Elze Stears

Runner up: Eldine Van Wyk and Tinashe Mukumba

Under-14 boys singles

Winner: Luca Monteforte

Runner up: Diken de Jongh

Under-14 boys doubles

Winner: Johannes Swartz and Luca Monteforte

Runner up: Diken De Jongh and Daniel Kienitz



KALLIE HEESE

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Namibian Sun 2024-11-14

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