Eland trump Oribi in seniors tennis tourney

The organisers and players of the KZN Uvongo Tennis Club Seniors Tournament breathed a sigh of relief when they woke up to perfect weather last Saturday. After all the rain during the week, they were anticipating the worst-case scenario of a complete washout. In the end it was anything but and it turned out to be a wonderful, if extremely warm, day, followed by another one the next day.

In the A section, Eland Team, consisting of Trevor Small, Robert Browne, Justin Roberts, Hriday Kambaran and Tracey Stewart had a convincing win over Oribi, consisting of Paul Barham, André Arendse, Robert Kelly, Kristy Ballantyne and Liska Thom.

In the B section Waterbuck, consisting of Johan van Niekerk, Robert van der Schuff, Ralph Burls, Renee Purtell and Andrew Wilkie had a similar win over Sable, consisting of Raj Naganna, Augustine Tugli, Ruthven Pullin, Candace Wilkie and Venessa Johnson.

It’s been three years since this annual tournament has been held, due to Covid restrictions.

Tournaments of this nature are essential for the sustainability of tennis in the region.
Eight teams of five players each took part in this unique team event over two days.

Teams were divided into A and B sections, based on strength. There were some very weary players after playing 88 games over the weekend. Teams were named in anticipation of a Springbok win against the Irish on Saturday evening.

However, the narrow loss did not have too much effect on the enthusiasm of the players.

* The Ugu South Coast National Seniors’ Tournament will be held from Thursday, December 8 to Sunday, December 11 this year, utilising the courts of Umtentweni, Uvongo, Douglas Mitchell and, if needed, Southbroom.

Tennis South Africa (TSA) will award full points according to the SA ranking system, which will enable players to qualify to represent SA at the annual World Championships and other international events.

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