22 December 2020 | Tennis Tasmania

The final long weekend of the inaugural Junior Universal Tennis Rankings (UTR) State Performance Championships saw champions from the 14/u and 18/u age groups crowned at the Domain Tennis Centre on Sunday.

The event replaced the annual December Showdown this year due to the ongoing impact of COVID-19 and state border restrictions, and is part of a new series of events taking place across seven Australian states and territories this month.

Launceston’s Jake Elmer and Hobart’s Edison Lee were the standout competitors in their respective divisions, with Hobart duo Casey Ambler and Jack Akl also performing strongly across three days of play.

Elmer carried his strong North West Tennis League form into the inaugural Championships, defeating Ambler in straight sets in the 18/u singles final on Sunday, before the duo paired up to defeat Andreas Tsiakis and Thomas Hann in the 18/u doubles final.

Lee, who finished runner-up in both the 16/u singles and doubles events on the opening weekend of the Championships, bounced back to claim the 14/u singles title in a tie-breaker on Centre Court after conceding the opening set to Akl. 

The Hobart-based junior then teamed up with Akl to claim the 14/u doubles title over Alex Martin and Lucas Akl.

Tournament Director Matthew Scott was pleased with how the inaugural event went, with a high standard of play and sportsmanship displayed across the six days of competition.

“To wrap up
the year with a top-tier junior event has been fantastic,” he said.

“The
atmosphere was great across both long weekends, and we’re looking forward to
seeing the event grow in the future, with the plan to hold it in a different
region of the state every December.”

“It provides a great opportunity for the community to support local tennis and to get around this event, which we see as being quite a prestigious one for years to come.”

Junior UTR State Performance Championships 14/u & 18/u Results:

Event	Winner	Runner-up
14/u boys singles	Edison Lee	Jack Akl
14/u boys doubles	Edison Lee & Jack Akl	Alex Martin & Lucas Akl
18/u boys singles	Jake Elmer	Casey Ambler
18/u boys doubles	Casey Ambler & Jake Elmer	Andreas Tsiakis & Thomas Hann