With Melbourne Park the current centre of the tennis universe, a new but significant competition will be orbiting the outer courts this Wednesday and Thursday in the form of the National Tennis League (NTL) Finals.
The inaugural edition of the NTL saw competitions run in Victoria, South Australia and Western Australia in late 2011 and the top two men’s and women’s teams from each state now meeting in these finals with the winner crowned inaugural national champions.
South Australia will be represented in the women’s by Flagstaff Freighters and Trinity Titans.
The Freighters come into the final full of confidence after a barnstorming NTL-SA in which they went undefeated, including taking out the NTL-SA final at Memorial Drive on December 22nd. NTL-SA Women’s Player of the Series Ashley Keir will lead out the Freighters and they have also been able to keep on touring player Emily Webley-Smith from England who is sure to feature prominently.
Trinity Titan’s squad is balanced out by the experience of Melanie Clayton and Melissa Beadman and the prodigious talents of Leah Daw and Amy Sneath. Trinity have long been a flagship club in South Australia, and the opportunity for them to compete on this national level will be something they do with great pride.
The men’s teams representing South Australia are the Rostrevor Raiders and Somerton Park Sharks.
The Raiders will be lead out by local champion Colin Ebelthite who will have able support from Joshua Crowe and the added guile of Heath Perry.
The young upstarts from the Somerton Park Sharks will be looking to shake things up after their spectacular effort in winning the NTL-SA. Todd Ley should relish the chance to mix it with the top interstate players after going through the NTL-SA without dropping a single’s rubber.
The Sharks may be without Luke Saville who is still on Junior Australian Open duties, but the Kokkinakis brothers’ Pan and Thanasi and the ever-reliable Lachlan Ferguson will be backing themselves to make a big impact at Melbourne Park.
The format of the playoff sees two pools play a round robin competition with the top team from each pool then playing the final on the afternoon of Australia Day.
Each tie is played over two courts with teams first playing two doubles rubbers followed by four singles rubbers. Each rubber comprises of two four game sets with a tie breaker for the third if the first two are split.
The NTL has seen a combination of traditional powerhouse clubs such as the famed Kooyong, Wembley Downs and Trinity Gardens along with ambitious clubs looking to lift their statuses whist the opposition squads include tennis names including Fromberg, Ebden and Peers.
The philosophy of the NTL is one based on innovation and with the mission to provide further opportunity to transitioning athletes and a new anchor for the game locally. The longer term ambition for the NTL sees teams based in each state and eventually throughout the Asia-Pacific region.
On this current state level however, the impact of the NTL in this pilot season was hugely encouraging with local media coverage and attendances at a level unseen at this level; but more importantly the way the players have embraced the concept bodes well for the future.
South Australian Squads
Rostrevor Raiders:
Colin Ebelthite, Chris Haskett, Joshua Crowe, Heath Perry & Jay Laginestra.
Somerton Park Sharks:
Todd Ley, Lachlan Ferguson, Thanasi Kokkinakis, Pan Kokkinakis, Simon Bates & Coach Todd Langman.
Flagstaff Freighters:
Ashley Keir, Olivia Lukaszewicz, Emily Webley-Smith, Kimberley Ruxton, Chloe Hule & Coach Jim Chaousis.
Trinity Titans:
Melanie Clayton, Melissa Beadman, Kimberley Handley, Amy Sneath & Coach Michelle Leyden.
Participating Teams
| Men’s |
Women’s |
| Kooyong TC – VIC | Kooyong – VIC |
| Dingley TC – VIC | Grace Park – VIC |
| Rostrevor Raiders – SA | Trinity Gardens Titans – SA |
| Somerton Park Sharks – SA | Flagstaff Hill Freighters – SA |
| Peppermint Grove – WA | Dalkeith TC – WA |
| Wembley Downs – WA | Hensman Midland – WA |
Full order of play and results can be found at:
www.tennis.com.au/competitions/national-tennis-league
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