Sale Tennis Club will host its 71st consecutive club championships this Sunday (November 26).
With the Wellington Gippsland Tennis Association season now well under way, this is a perfect opportunity for both junior and senior club members to show their full skills on the club’s 14 red porous courts. After scheduling difficulties due to the facility redevelopment and then COVID-19 over the past few years, the tournament is set to be a special event for all players.
The most hotly contested events for the 71th championships will be the four honour board events – the Open Ladies Singles, the Open Men’s Singles and the 18 & Under Girls and Boys Singles. Other events include 10, 12, 14 and 16 & Under Girls and Boys Singles and Doubles, the ever popular Family Doubles and Women’s and Men’s Doubles and mixed events.
In the open events, Jess Board and Mark Elliman are the 2022 champions.
Jess will return in 2023 to defend her title, keen to back up and make it five-in-a-row. She won’t have it all her own way however, as last year’s runner-up in the ladies singles, Jo Rule has had a strong season with some recent international competition experience that will see her be very competitive. Others to challenge will possibly be Reggie Virgo who will also be hard to beat.
In the open men’s singles, neither 2022 winner Mark Elliman or runner-up Marrien Van Den Huevel will compete, leaving the field wide open for someone new on the honour board.
Sale Tennis Club are hopeful of seeing Elliman back on court in 2024 after major wrist surgery has kept him out this season. Number 1 seed for the title will be the experienced Anthony Glynn, who is competing in his first championship after returning to Gippsland from Melbourne.
Anthony will be challenged by up and coming junior Sen Goold who has had international experience in the last year and some impressive tournament results in the 2023. Whoever makes it through to the final, the eventual matchup will be one of the most anticipated matches of the tournament.
In the 18 & Under Boys, Josiah Levchenko was the 2022 champion and is eligible to defend his title. Sen Goold is also looking for a spot on the honour board, as is Riley Nicholas, Sam Bertino, Aaron Donaldson and Louis Lazzaro.
In the 18 & Under Girls, Jess Board is hoping to make it five in a double by taking out a fifth successive 18 and Under and Open title.
The other age events are very open as the players progress through their age groups from the 10 & Under.
The annual club championships provide another opportunity for club players, especially juniors, to test themselves against their peers. This is part of the junior development pathway, and while club championships have been slowly fading from many clubs annual calendars, Sale Tennis Club is determined to continue its long tradition.
For further details or to get a 71st Club Championships entry form, members are encouraged to get in touch with Robin Lowe at theelms82@outlook.com or on 0418 514 788.
