72 girls aged 8 and under gathered from all over Kent for the annual Kent LTA Girls R Us fun doubles event at the Sennocke Centre in Sevenoaks School on Saturday 25th January. This was a big increase from the entry in 2013.
The Kent LTA office and clubs such as the Sevenoaks West Heath programme and Bromley Tennis Centre, have been particularly proactive in promoting girls tennis, responding to Judy Murray's call for a much bigger number of girls actually playing and competing.
The girls all played in different groups according to their level of experience, there were beginners playing in their first tournament and girls who had reached the finals of Winter County Tour events. They all made new friends from a wide range of tennis clubs and thoroughly enjoyed playing doubles.
There were 7 groups they were won by:
Sian Bloomfield and Millie Thompson
Madeline Brown and Lucy Labrum
Ella Walker and Ilse Russell Jones
Mia Karam and Emma Wessels
Yasmin Mcintosh and Ellie Blaney
Karina Guzman and Ella Tiffany
Isabella Basson and Sophie Lake
Well done to everyone who took park!
After tennis, all the girls had the opportunity to jump into the pool and cool off which they loved!
Siobhan Butler, Kent Tennis Services Assistant who oversaw the entry process said “We’d like to thank all the parents who entered their daughters, 72 is a phenomenal number of mini red girl players. In addition thanks to those who helped score the matches and a huge thanks goes to Helene Jackson and her team who ran the event on the day”
We are already looking forward to seeing more 8 and under girls at next year’s event.