South Australia’s Jeffrey Strydom is now an Australian champion after taking out the 14-and-under boys’ title at the 2023 12/u and 14/u Australian Hardcourt Championships at West Lakes Tennis Club in Adelaide.
Fourteen-year-old Strydom defeated sixth seed Tristan McIntosh (NSW) 6-2 6-0 in just over an hour to claim the title.
“The week has been amazing. It feels really good to get my first national title and it’s even more special to win it here in my hometown. I’ve been working towards this for a while now, so I’m really proud of myself,” Strydom said.
“I’ve been playing some really good tennis. I feel like this is some of the best tennis I’ve played in a while. I love playing here, I love these courts.”
In the 14/u girls’, seventh seed Jennifer Ott (NSW) defeated Tori Russell (Qld) 7-5 6-4 in just under two hours. The victory sees Ott take home back-to-back titles from West Lakes after winning the 12/u girls’ title in 2022.
“This is the first 14 and under nationals I’ve played in and it’s really special to have won. All the hard work really pays off and when I look back, even when I was down, I never gave up in my matches,” Ott said.
“Everyone here is so nice, it’s been a really comfortable week. I feel really happy when I’m playing on court and this club just makes tennis that extra bit fun!”
In other singles finals action, second seed Pauline Ma (Vic) overcame third seed Suri Suchovsky (NSW) 6-0 6-3 to win the 12/u girls’ championship and second seed Raphael Savelli (Vic) defeated third seed Oliver Hancin (Vic) 6-2 6-2 to win the 12/u boys’ championship.
The finals were a fitting end to a tournament that has hosted 190 players from around Australia over the past week, giving all the opportunity to play for national titles and gain valuable experience.
“We have had a great week here in Adelaide for the 12/u and 14/u Australian Hardcourt Championships,” Tennis Australia Manager of Tournament Operations Francis Soyer said.
“Our congratulations to all of the players who have participated in the tournament and our thanks to West Lakes Tennis Club for their generous hospitality, time and efforts.”
The championships form a part of the Australian Junior Championships taking place over the coming months with December Showdown End-of-Year Masters to be held in Melbourne, followed by the Grasscourt Championships in Mildura in January 2024.
2023 12/u and 14/u Australian Hardcourt Championships title winners
12/u Singles
Boys: [2] Raphael Savelli (Vic) d [3] Oliver Hancin (Vic) 6-2 6-2
Girls: [2] Pauline Ma (Vic) d [3] Suri Suchovsky (NSW) 6-0 6-3
14/u Singles
Boys: [1] Jeffrey Strydom (SA) d [6] Tristan McIntosh (NSW) 6-2 6-0
Girls: [7] Jennifer Ott (NSW) d [4] Tori Russell (Qld) 7-5 6-4
12/u Doubles
Boys: [1] Ethan Domingo (NSW)/Raphael Savelli (Vic) d [3] Tommy Camus (ACT)/Aidan Chan (WA) 7-5 6-3
Girls: [2] Ami Dalla Pozza (NSW)/Ceressa Jackson (Qld) d Mieka Gordon-Threatt (Vic)/Pauline Ma (Vic) 7-5 6-7(7) [10-7]
14/u Doubles
Boys: [1] George Diable (WA)/Jeffrey Strydom (SA) d Nikolas Baker (Vic)/Asher Brownrigg (Qld) 6-0 6-1
Girls: [3] Emilie Chen (NSW)/Vesna Marinkov (NSW) d [1] Brooke Komorowski (NSW)/Ruby Thompson (NSW) 6-4 6-2
Latest
SA