Mini court allows young players to hone their skills

JACK OLDFIELD and Alderney's Ella Coole were the overall winners of the annual under-eight mini event at the Guernsey Tennis Centre. Thirty-six players, including 12 from Alderney, supported by their coach, Rosemary James, played in three age groups.

'These championships are the primary ?starter? event on the Guernsey tennis calendar and the round-robin format followed by knockout and consolation events ensured everyone kept playing until the end,' said organiser Jo Robinson.

'Many of the children taking part are already playing full tennis to a good standard and it was clear to all watching that the mini court is a great place for them to consolidate their understanding of the tactics of the game.'

In the boys' under-eight final, Oldfield looked very controlled as he got into many long rallies with Theo Lepp, but was the more able of the two in working out a way to end the point, often with some great short-angled shots.

The under-eight quarter-finalists were all of a high quality and many of these ties were very competitive and of a high standard.

Coming through to the semi-finals and eventually securing third and fourth place were Zachary Clark and Anthony Palmiero (Alderney).

The girls' under-eight was a round-robin event and Coole won comfortably.

She, too, looks set to become an accomplished player.

Simone Blanchard was second overall and won all her games apart from that one against the winner.

The under-nine boys' final again involved Oldfield, this time facing his friend and rival Thomas Nightingale.

Nightingale started the match well and won the first game with some very deep cross-court shots which kept Oldfield on the run.

This turned around in the second and final game when Oldfield started firing in his overarm first serves more regularly and began to move his opponent around.

Nightingale showed tremendous athleticism and many times retrieved the seemingly irretrievable, but eventually succumbed 2-1.

The under-nine girls contained an equally tight result with Aimee Coleman of Alderney running out the group winner over Coole, again by 2-1.

One of the highlights of the event is always the under-sevens and the future would appear to be bright for Sebastian Smeed, son of Richard, the island and county player and coach.

He demonstrated his determination and ability by running out the winner 2-0 in a close match against Palmiero.

Amy Sharpe took the under-seven girls' honours.