Juniors step up at tennis tournament

Tewantin Noosa Tennis Club members Markus Meintjes (left) and Harvey Soutar at the competition. (Supplied)

Many juniors took their first steps in a tennis tournament at the Coloured Ball section of the Tewantin Junior Development Series on Sunday 24th August.

The tournament hosted 51 tennis players from the Sunshine Coast competing for trophies in three divisions, Under 8 Red Ball, Under 10 Orange Ball and Under 11 Green Ball.

Winner of the Green Ball Girls’ Tournament was Zoe Van Der Vyver while Thomas Fyfe won the boys’ event.

The Orange Ball girls’ winner was Georgia Gaspar and the boys’ winner was Alexander Temple.

The winner of the Red Ball competition was Harry Hall.

Special awards for sportsmanship during the day went to Maksin Laventiev and Addison Berry. Best effort awards went to Agnes Fung and Beau Walkley.

Jack Mellish, Tennis Queensland Development Officer, said, “This was the biggest ever Coloured Ball Competition held at the Tewantin Noosa Tennis Club. In the past year, this competition grew by 35 per cent on the Sunshine Coast in total compared with the same period last year. Our juniors continue to enjoy a sport which they can play throughout their lives.”

Three players under the Emerging Leaders’ program were on hand to assist.

The Emerging Leaders program grounds players in the fundaments of court supervision, assisting in coaching and tournament directing. Nine people undertook the program on the Sunshine Coast in 2025.

With the Coloured Ball Competition, modified ball compression and a smaller court size help the youngsters learn the rules and techniques in tennis at a much faster pace.