The u/11 boys’ round robin event was won by Laerskool Nelspruit’s Ruan Oosthuizen with Pascal Middel finishing as runner-up. The boys’ event was a very closely fought affair with Gideon du Plessis and Reinhard Grobler also having some good wins.

The u/13 girls’ event was won by Laerskool Laeveld’s Chané Steyn over Alieke van Zyl while Hoërskool Nelspruit’s Lize Oosthuizen won the girls’ u/15-18 event.

The boys’ u/13 event was won by Laerskool Nelspruit’s Christian Smith with JP Snyman finishing as runner-up in a tightly contested final match.

ALSO READ:Slam tourney a first for the Lowveld

The match of the day on Friday featured John Robert de Clerck and Christiaan Bezuidenhout with John Robert eventually winning 3-6 6-2 10-7 in a highly entertaining match.

Uplands’ number-one player JP Visagie won the boys’ u/15 event with a tough win over Curro’s Zuan Taljaard 6-4 6-4. Michiel Eksteen finished third with a 6-3 6-2 win over Dian Venter who finished fourth.

Hoerksool Bergvlam’s Muhammed Arabi won the boys’ u/18 event with Hoërksool Nelspruit’s Du Toit Wessels finishing as runner-up. The match was a very close three-set game with Muhammed winning 6-1 5-7 10-5.

The tournament also featured an u/11 red and orange ball section which allowed beginners to compete for the first time. The section used modified equipment, courts and scoring for boys and girls to begin their tournament journey and enjoy the experience of competition.

ALSO READ:Tennis players compete during Grand Prix

Milan le Roux won the u/11 red ball section with Curro’s Ruby Coetzee finishing as runner-up. Mihir Narotam, from Curro, won the u/11 orange ball section with Laerskool Bergland’s Ruben Loock finishing as runner-up.

“Well done to all players who competed in the closed tournament. There were some really hard-fought matches and players gave 100 per cent effort on the court. It was really exciting to see players as young as eight years old competing in a regional tournament. I look forward to seeing them develop in the coming years,” said Lowveld Tennis Association president Eckhardt van der Linde.

After the next tournament, the rankings will be finalised for the year and the top six players in each age group will represent the Lowveld in the Mpumalanga Interdistricts competition in Middelburg in August. Last year, the

Lowveld won every age group in this competition and will look to again reign supreme as the best district in Mpumalanga.

The next Lowveld closed tennis tournament is on July 12 and 13 with Nelspruit also hosting a prestigious Tennis South Africa Grand Prix tournament in August.