Of all the tournaments that the Yellowknife Tennis Club hosts each season, there is one where the entrants are all under 18 years of age.
Nearly a dozen of the club’s young stars hit the courts for the Junior Invitational Tournament on Aug. 7. The players were split into two divisions — 10 and over and high performance — and each played a round-robin-style event to determine the winners.
Slavica Jovic, the organization’s communications co-ordinator, said all of the players were from the club’s junior league program, something new as of this season.
“We called it invitational so we would get just those players who are in the league,” she said. “We may have had some kids who came but wouldn’t be able to play, so that’s why we kept it only for players in the junior league.”
The 10-and-over division featured a total of six players — it normally has 10 — and those who took part had to be able to serve, rally and score in a proper game of tennis. The players were given feedback throughout the day by coaches Tamara Jovic and Jan Martinek — the latter serves as the club’s head pro this season. The feedback included advice on tactics as well as supervision on warm-ups and points.
Green tennis balls were used for game play. They differ slightly from a regular yellow tennis ball in that they bounce lower after hitting the court.
When the games were completed, Joel Naveed came out on top with Dexter Dungey finishing in second place.
The high-performance division involved the best young players duking it out to win it all. Unlike their younger counterparts, they played on a standard-sized court with regular yellow tennis balls.
Slavica said four players took part out of the 11 who normally play, with Nikhilesh Gohil finishing atop the standings. The victory adds to his already impressive tournament haul this season.
“These are the kids who are focusing on the Canada Summer Games next year,” she said. “A lot of our high-performance kids were out of town that weekend, which is why we only had just four.”
The club will be back in tournament mode this coming weekend with the Doubles Tournament, scheduled to get underway Thursday evening.