Throughout the year mini-tennis players of all ages in Devon and Cornwall have the chance to enjoy competition through the Flybe sponsored series of competitions. On Sunday 23rd November, Heron Tennis in Newquay was the host venue for the latest event in the series for Red ball players who are aged 8 years and under.
The matches at this level are played on a court which is similar in size to a badminton court and using bigger slower tennis balls the youngsters are able to play a scaled down version of the full game and even at this young age players can develop the same techniques and tactics that they will need as they progress on to the full-size court.
The welcoming address to the players by event organiser, Paul Roberts from Heron, emphasised that we were looking for the youngsters to call the scores loudly, play fair, try their hardest and, most importantly, enjoy themselves. In every one of these areas all of the children did brilliantly whilst also enjoying lots of good competitive matches. Well done to everyone.
A special mention must go to Archie Mallet (Heron) who did really well to win all of his matches, including an especially tough match against Matthew Upton, and with his lovely single-handed Federer/Wawinka-like backhand will clearly be a player to watch out for. Another player with bags of potential is 6 ½ year old Maya Ichim (Devonshire) whose technique, movement and all round strong play are outstanding and she’s already pushing the older boys in her age group.
For details on how to join the mini tennis programme at Heron please call 01637 877 555 or for Countywide information please visit http://www.lta.org.uk/in-your-area/Cornwall/