Country Club Johannesburg hosts its tennis champs

The Country Club Johannesburg’s tennis championships brought its Woodmead and Auckland Park players together for a weekend of fun and action.

The round robins were hosted at both venues on a Saturday and the finals and women’s social event were held with much aplomb at Woodmead the next day, 15 November.

More than 40 people entered the tournament and it was a tremendous success, said Claudia Richards, who is sports manager for both of the club’s venues.

“We tried a new format this year which was far shorter,” she explained.

“It brought the tennis coaches, committee and the players all working together so well in a fun, fast format of the event. We saw our tennis club champs grow by double with it, post-Covid.”

Richards added that it was nice to be outside and see the players enjoy a tournament in a safe environment.

Furthermore, Wilson Tennis and Brett Summers sponsored lovely prizes to see everyone put in a little more effort to win.

Brad Vermeulen, a successful junior player, who ranked number one at Samford University in his college days, picked up a racket for the first time after lockdown and had his racket re-strung.

He played the men’s singles final against Rob Porter, who had almost pulled out of the tournament due to a hamstring injury.

Porter battled through the injury to reach the final but fell just short against Vermeulen.

In the women’s singles final, Taryn Mallet took time out of her busy hockey training regime to play and beat Caeleigh King.

Mallet is a former junior national tennis player for Zimbabwe and is busy training for the Olympic Games as part of the South African hockey team.

Details: The Country Club Johannesburg Auckland Park 011 710 6400; Woodmead 011 202 1600.

Related Article: 

https://www.citizen.co.za/sandton-chronicle/285249/bryanston-sports-club-hosts-its-tennis-club-championships-in-record-time/