Wairarapa to host leading juniors

Gary Caffell | 28th August 2009

Wairarapa Tennis Association is hosting one of the biggest junior events ever held in the province at the Masterton Tennis Centre and Masterton Intermediate courts this weekend.

It is the Tennis Central Region junior tourney and it will be attended by the leading players from several provinces, including Taranaki, Wanganui, Manawatu, Wairarapa, Hutt Valley, Kapi Mana and Wellington, many of whom are nationally ranked.

In all 61 players aged from 9yrs to 16yrs will be participating and those who place highly will obviously enhance their chances of selection in the central region teams to play at a spring triangular tournament in October and the age group national tourneys to be held in January.

Wairarapa will be represented by four players, Monte Warren in the boys 16yrs, Sade Atkinson in the girls 14-16yrs, Johnty Tatham in the boys 12yrs and Georgia Atkinson in the girls 12yrs.

Tournament controller Cilla Paulik said all players will play in at least five
singles matches in their round robin
draw with the top four players in each section then advancing to semi-finals and finals.

Paulik predicted the standard of play would be "extremely high" with some of the top seeds having already played in televised games through the Sovereign Super Stars series at the ASB Classic and the Heineken Open last January.