Oxfordshire players Anand Badiani and Olivia Pickford played at the Boodles Challenge during the pre-Wimbledon Exhibition Event alongside established World Class stars such as Gilles Simon and Nikolay Davydenko.
Following Club and County level competitions they were playing as the Counties representatives in the inaugural 12 & Under Event and were up against tough competition from Berkshire and Buckinghamshire. Both players had done very well to qualify and gave a good account of themselves on the Finals Day with Anand finishing as Runner-Up in the Boys event and OIivia finishing up Third amongst the Girls.
Anand, who plays at The Oxfordshire Health & Racquets Club had a tough opener against the eventual winner of the event, Oliver Levi from Bucks, going down 6-0. However, Anand pulled things round in his second match of the day beating Nathan Shaw of Berkshire 6-2 in a closely fought tussle.
Olivia, despite battling hard and showing a tremendous attitude, found her opponents too strong on the day and went down 6-0 to both Chloe Lant, Berks who was the events Winner and Hannah Russell of Bucks.
Following on from the Junior Event the players had the chance to meet Nikolay Davydenko and then watch the Final Day of action at the Event. The day was a fantastic success and It is hoped that this will become an annual event and more Oxfordshire players have such a great opportunity in years to come.