Mpumalanga Senior Tennis tournament serves up an ace with scintillating play
The seniors played top-notch tennis and braved the Lowveld heat to pit their tennis skills against each other.
This year’s Mpumalanga Seniors Tennis Tournament served up exciting performances from the province’s veteran tennis aces. The tournament commenced at the Nelspruit Tennis Cub in Liebenberg Street on Saturday and provided an afternoon of stellar performances on the clay court.
It was a Tennis South Africa sanctioned event which proceeded over the course of the weekend. The categories included men’s and women’s singles matches in the over-35, over-40, over-45, over-50, over-55 to the over-70 age ranges. In the mens and women’s doubles matches, matches were played in the over-30, over-35, over-40, over-45 to the over-60 age ranges.
The XD matches were played by competitors in the over35, over-55 and over-65 age groups. The courts were filled as players rallied back and forth on a largely temperate Lowveld afternoon to proceed to the finals which were held on Sunday.
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In the men’s over-70 final match, Theo Schoch and Paulus Masuko squared off, with the latter retiring after a 5-1 result. Elaine Nelson and June Smith played three sets in the womens singles over65 and the former took a well-deserved victory, beating her opponent 6-3, 3-6, 2-6.
and over.
Hansie Schoeman walked away as winner in the mens over-65 category after a strong showing throughout the weekend, clinching the title after a walkover. Mark Joubert, Mark Vos, Johann Greyling and Peet Rabie were the top seeds in the men’s singles over-55 category, each putting in a tremendous amount of effort to overcome their opponents.
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Overall, the tournament produced exciting displays of tennis, with the excitement palpable on the stands.
The Mpumalanga Senior Tennis chairman, Johanna Brink said, “Each province hosts a tournament and this one was attended by players from all over South Africa, hosting 67 players. It was a top tournament and the standard of tennis played over the three-day period was exceptional.”
