Mpumalanga stole the show with some top singles performances at the 30th annual Growthpoint Senior Interprovincial Tournament held in Mbombela last week.

The tournament was at Nelspruit Tennis Club, Panorama and Hoërskool Nelspruit, and was hosted by Mpumalanga Senior Tennis and coordinated by chairman Johanna Brink.

The host province were victors in the 50B Cup age category while finishing in second place in the 55B and men’s only sections, with victories also for Boland (50A Cup), Western Province (Men only), North West (60B Cup) and Gauteng North (55B Cup).

More impressive was the good individual form shown by some of the players who will compete in the ITF Senior World Championship in Portugal later this year. The likes of Guillaume Oberholster, Piet van Blerk and Ahmed Bhikoo had impressive showings that bode well for their preparations for the world event in August.

“This was certainly one of the most successful Growthpoint Seniors Interprovincial Tournaments hosted, thanks largely to the wonderful local support, the quality of tennis and of course, the great support from Tennis SA and our sponsors, Growthpoint,” said TSA Seniors Co-coordinator, Sharon van der Schyff.

“I can also proudly say that our national players who are set to go and compete in Portugal came through with flying colours.
“Overall, the entire week of tennis results was closely contested, with some teams winning by just a couple of games. One particular highlight for me was a 50A ladies match that consisted of 60 shots in one rally that, in my eyes, could well be a record.

“With that said, congratulations to all the competing players, I can foresee that this long-standing event will continue to thrive now that we have the wonderful support of our headline sponsor.”