Locals take honours in tightly contested tournament

Tennis players from as far as Gauteng gave locals a good run for their money at Van Riebeeck Park and Matumi this past weekend. The Mpumalanga Mini 2 tournament saw almost 90 entries, which consisted of 70 boys and 18 girls. Players battled it out over three days, but in the end there could only be one winner.

Mpumalanga Tennis comprises three districts, Lowveld, Highveld and West Mpumalanga. Lowveld were the winners of the Interdistricts 2016 for the first time since 2004. Six tournaments are presented per year plus a mini-masters tournament on invitation.

During the year a ranking list will be drawn up from which the points of the best two tournaments will be taken into account for invitation to the final trials. In order for a guaranteed spot to the final a player should end up in the top four places on the ranking list, based on the best two tournaments played. A total of 13 players will be invited on merit and three PDI players to make up a possible 16 spots. The remaining nine spots on merit will be nominated by the three districts (junior and schools committees). A new player in the province who has not had time to prove himself to be considered for the regional team, can be invited to the final trials if there is still a spot available, due to a cancellation. The final decision will be taken by the provincial junior committee. The final trials are the prestigious event for Mpumalanga players.

After the final the team will be selected. Those chosen must play a minimum of three representative provincial matches to qualify for Mpumalanga colours. The final decision rests with the Mpumalanga executive committee.

A player’s behaviour and commitment will also be taken into consideration. If a person moves to a higher age group for the following year, 80 per cent of their ranking points will be carried over. Management reserves the right to select a player for any age group concerned. The final team selection rests with the selection committee. If two age groups are combined during a TSA ranking tournament, points will, for ranking purposes, be awarded in the age group in which they entered.

The points will be decided according to the final position of all players of the specific age group.

Boys u/10:

1. Daniel Markman
2. Heinrich Rootman
3. Gidon Miltz
4. Dylan Ormiston (Nelspruit)

Boys u/12:

1. Ricardo Jacinto (6-1, 6-1)
2. Wernich Rossouw
3. Joshua Black (White River) (6-2, 6-0)
4. Jordan Diamond

Boys u/14:

1. Florian Vandelanotte (6-2, 6-1)
2. Henco du Plooy
3. Petros Hatzipanis (6-0, 6-3)
4. Sam Black (White River)

Boys u/16:

1. Jason Hanslo (6-4, 6-7, 10-7)
2. Christopher Stocken
3. Chukwuemeka Mordi (6-7, 6-0, 12-10)
4. Reinhardt Kritzinger

Boys u/18:

1. Dylan Hanslo (6-1, 6-1)
2. Jean Bothma
3. Ruben Mey (6-1, 6-3)
4. Taillard van Zyl (Nelspruit)

Girls u/12 (platinum):

1. Chizelle Rossouw (6-1, 6-0)
2. Arili Boshoff (Nelspruit)
3. Martina Garnevska
4. Chiara de Wet

Girls u/12 (gold):

1. Dina Tchelet (6-1, 3-6, 10-6)
2. Kira Dannheisser
3. BenaDea Lubbe (Nelspruit) (7-5, 5-7, 10-8)
4. Larischa Kelly (Lydenburg).