By Jess Brow
A new breed of tennis players took to the synthetic grass courts at the National Sports Club today during the first day of competition in the ACT Junior Open.
The group of 10 was a mixture of 10/under boys from clubs around Canberra who got their first taste of competition tennis as they participated in the round robin style event.
Program co-ordinator, Kristine Richardson, said the competition was a great way for juniors to learn about playing tournaments and is good for their development as tennis players.
“The younger they start the more they are going to develop as a player and the more balls they hit at a younger age,” said Richardson.
“For a first time player, I think the under 10’s is a good starting point, and this environment with me helping makes it a lot easier for them.
“Having someone to refer back to with scores and to make sure they understand everything is vital and playing a round robin, like we did today, is the best option for competition at this age.
“It is daunting to be coming to a tournament and to just play one match and then lose; I think there is more for them to look forward to if they lose because they have another three or four matches to comeback and get back up there,” added Richardson.
Over the course of the day the boys played 36 games against 4 different players.
They played on a full sized tennis court and used lower compression tennis balls, which meant the ball didn’t bounce as high and the participants could have more control over their shots.
Ten-year-old Owen Levings from Kambah Tennis Club, was excited to be a part of the tournament so he could practice his favourite tennis shot.
“I enjoy playing tennis and want to be a professional tennis player when I’m older,” Levings said. “Nadal is my favourite player because he has a really good forehand, just like me.”
Levings is confident when it comes to playing tournaments as he has played in a couple already, but found it hard to play with the modified tennis ball as he has only practiced with a full compression ball in the past.
“I have played in two other tournaments before this one, and I really enjoy playing” said Levings.
“I did find it harder to hit the ball today (because of the lower compression ball). The ball slows up a lot and it also doesn’t bounce that high which makes it harder to hit. I wasn’t used to it,” he added.
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