The South Wales boys’ under-12s tennis team reached the National Tennis Finals in Bolton, after an all-winning qualifying round in Wrexham.
The team of four included Joseph White, James Story, and Saif Ali all from UWIC Tennis Academy in Cardiff, and Jonathan Evans from Llanelli Tennis and Squash Club. They played teams from North Wales, Hereford and Worcester, Staffordshire, and Shropshire in the qualifying round.
The first day of matches resulted in all wins by the South Wales boys. Joseph White, who won against North Wales (4-0, 4-0) and Hereford and Worcester (4-1, 4-0), also won his two matches on the second day. Singles winner James Story then joined Llanelli’s Jonathan Evans to win both their doubles matches (4-2, 4-2 and 2-4, 4-2).
There were more successes as Saif Ali also won all four of his singles matches over the weekend, with scores of 4-2, 5-4 against North Wales, 4-2, 4-2 against Hereford and Worcester, 4-2, 4-1 against Staffordshire, and 5-3, 4-2 against Shropshire.
In Bolton the boys played teams from Avon, East of Scotland, Kent and Hertfordshire, and were again led by team captain David Maddock-Lyon of David Lloyd Cardiff, and assistant captain Rhys Morgan of Mackintosh Sports Club. They joined seven other teams who also made it through to the finals.
The first match against Avon resulted in a 3-1 win for South Wales, with wins by Joseph White (4-1, 4-0), James Story (4-1, 5-3), and a 4-2, 4-1 doubles win by the two.
The team won one match against East of Scotland, with Saif Ali winning 4-2, 5-4. The team were unlucky against Kent, but Saif Ali won his singles match against Hertfordshire (4-2, 4-2) allowing them to take home 6th place in the competition.
“The attitude and commitment of the team was excellent with all players ready to compete at what is the highest level for their age group,” said team captain David Maddock-Lyon.
“As a captain, I was proud of the way each player conducted themselves, being a credit to the team and the county that they represented.”
Last month, the South Wales under-10s boys also reached the national finals.
“The number of young people playing and competing across Wales has doubled in recent years,” said Tennis Wales chief executive, Peter Drew. “We’re really seeing the fruits of this growth in performances like this, which suggest more success to come for South Wales tennis.”