Enniskillen Tennis Club hosted the ever-popular annual Junior Open tournament last weekend. Once again, the tournament brought together junior players from all over the country. It was a great opportunity for the local players to compete for national ranking points on home turf. Enniskillen Tennis Club had an incredible 18 players competing in the tournament and the early results were very positive for the enthusiastic locals.

Myah Greene shone on day one with an under 12’s doubles and first round singles win. Day two was action packed from start to late finish.

One of the matches of the day was an under 12’s match. Enniskillen’s Maya Kettyle took Lisburn player Taliah Long. Maya got off to a flying start taking the first set comfortably with an amazing array of forehand and backhand winners. But her opponent was not done and fought back to take the second set.

All came down to a championship tie break. Maya held her nerve and took the match 10/7.

The players fuelled by a barbeque of food supplied by O’Doherty’s Butchers took to the courts with real vigour. Enniskillen player Owen Hoogerboord took on the number four seed Arnav Sood from Dublin in the under 12’s. It was a match full of twists and turns and it all came down to a championship tie break. Owen played smart tennis and moved his opponent about with an impressive variety of shots and took the match.

Enniskillen’s Carla Smith had a great second match against City of Derry player Catherine Gallen-Willcocks. Carla was hitting with a devastating amount of power and won to take her half of the draw. The last match on Saturday evening was a thrilling doubles match. Enniskillen pair Sam Morrison and Jonah Balfour took on visiting pair Matthew Taggart and Alexander McLean. The local duo fought hard and thrilled the crowd of spectators who stayed to watch the match. The tie break saw Sam hit one of the biggest forehands of the tournament and found an ace to help them to an impressive victory.

Proceedings were paused for a moment during the day as the Junior Committee made a special presentation to Enniskillen club player Jake Elliott who is moving away. He has played a big part in the junior club with his hard-working attitude and volunteer work.

Finals day lived up to all the expectations and spectators were thrilled by the display of tennis. Enniskillen player Owen Hoogerboord finished third in the boys U12’s singles in a decisive straight sets victory against Belfast player Harry Tipping. Enniskillen boys Jonah Balfour and Jake Elliott featured in the finals of the U16’s and U18’s singles. The tournament fittingly concluded with the boys U16’s doubles and a nail biting finish for the Enniskillen’s doubles team of Jonah Balfour and Sam Morrison. They lost by the narrowest of margins but were very pleased to have made the final.

The tennis club was delighted so many young players were involved in the tournament especially so many from the Enniskillen club. Junior coordinator Anne-Marie Rice paid tribute to the very generous sponsors - Elite Electronics and Lakeland Veterinary services without whom the tournament would not be possible.