This past weekend, our club hosted our annual Royal LePage Hiller Realty ‘French Open’ Junior Grand Slam Tournament, showcasing impressive talent and sportsmanship from our young athletes. Despite the wicked temperature, the juniors persevered through long rallies and tough matchups to deliver an exciting day of tennis.

With three players competing in the U18 Boys category, a round-robin format was adopted to ensure fair play. The opening match saw Josh Heaton dominate his younger brother Will Heaton, cruising to an 8–0 victory. Despite recovering from a recent skateboard injury, Will showed resilience stepping onto the court and fighting for every point.

In the next match, Jared Smith overcame Will Heaton 8–4. Jared’s aggressive play with powerful serves and heavy forehands, proved to be overwhelming, while Will’s consistency kept the match competitive.
The title came down to the final showdown between Josh Heaton and Jared Smith. Jared came out swinging, attacking Josh’s second serves and grabbing an early lead. But Josh’s cool composure and consistency in the heat turned the table, and he claimed the U18 Boys title with an 8–5 win.

Francis Nguyen put on an impressive performance to take the U14 Boys title. In the final, he defeated Lincoln Rae 8–3 by utilizing his deep forehands that pinned Lincoln to the back of the court. In earlier rounds, Lincoln had showcased his athleticism in a hard-fought semi-final win over Ryan Yang, but Francis proved too strong.

In the U14 boys consolation bracket, Ryan Yang rebounded from his semi-final loss. He opened with an 8–0 win over Vihaan Tammanaa, showing off smart, steady play. Jeremy Lee also found redemption, narrowly edging Daisuke Faigaux 8–5 in a match where both participants relied on their consistency and endurance.
In the consolation final, Ryan Yang faced Jeremy Lee. Ryan’s deeper shots and relentless court coverage earned him a dominant 8–0 win to take the U14 Consolation title.

In the U18 Girls draw, Nell McIntosh and Clara Kee emerged as the standouts. Nell opened her tournament with a commanding 8–0 win over Trisha Panwala, while Clara outlasted Sophie Keene 8–2 in a match full of extended rallies.
The main draw final between Nell and Clara impressed all the spectators. Clara’s excellent footwork and positioning kept her in many rallies, but Nell’s strategic play and composed demeanor guided her to an 8–4 victory and the U18 Girls title.
In the consolation final, Sophie Keene defeated Trisha Panwala 8–6 in the closest match of the day. Both players battled fatigue and the heat in a match defined by long rallies.

We are very proud of our juniors for their incredible effort and attitude. Battling through hot conditions and tough matches. We’re excited to see what’s next for this talented group of juniors from the Stratford Tennis Club.

Article published by Matt Furlong

The Stratford Tennis Club held its annual Super Set Doubles tournament this past weekend. On a beautiful day for tennis , the 21 teams and many spectators enjoyed a wonderful Saturday in the Park. 

The Ladies ‘A’ final was a battle between the mother/daughter team of Kim and Abbie Straus and  the upset queens of the day Lindsay Murray and Jess Lawson. Murray and Lawson knocked off two higher seeded teams to reach the final, in their first tournament together. Team Straus had dominated their way to their first final. The championship match was more of the same. Kim and Abbie were on their game from the opening point. Murray and Lawson had run out of gas and couldn’t keep up with the pace of team Straus. Kim and Abbie Straus were crowned champions with an 8-0 victory. This the first Super Set title for Kim and Abbie Straus.

The Ladies ‘B’ final was the best ladies match of the day. Michelle Thomson and Sadie Ennett faced of against Marta Andrekovic and Sarah Heaton. In a match that saw many long rallies and some impressive defense, Thompson and Ennett outlasted their opponents to take the title with an 8-6 victory.  

The Men’s ‘A’ final was a battle of the top 2 seeds. #1 seeds, Mark Barton and Liam Benton had advanced to the final with an 8-3 win over David Nickel and Joey Hishon in their semifinal. Their opponents and #2 seeds Matt Furlong and Kent McPherson took out Rob Munford and Tony Stanic 8-4 in their semi to set up the final showdown. Barton and Benton showed off their experience in the final. After an impressive couple of high school tournaments , where they won both Huron Perth doubles, and WOSSA doubles, Barton and Benton added to their title haul with an 8-2 win. This is Mark and Liam’s first Super Set ‘A’ Doubles championship.

The Men’s ‘A’ consolation final was one of the matches of the day. Bob Tamblyn (who was playing left handed due to a shoulder injury) and longtime partner Jason Erb faced off against another experienced team in Pat McCarroll and Murray Schiedel. At the end of a long day they went the distance, needing a tiebreaker to decide the title. In the tiebreaker, Tamblyn and Erb prevailed. The 8-7 (7 points to 5 in the tiebreaker) win entertained the crowd from start to finish.

The Men’s ‘B’ final was a battle between first time teammates. Sri Dugalam and Michael De Angelis faced off against John McCarroll and Ron Zehnal. Both teams had won matches in tiebreakers to advance forward in the ‘B’ draw. The final saw the consistency of Dugalam and de Angelis be the difference as they took the title with a well deserved 8-3 win.

The Men’s ‘B’ consolation final had another parent/child team see success. Neil Cave and his 11 year old son Liam took out Jared Smith and Kevin Vogt in their semi to advance to the final. Their opponents would be teenage brothers Josh and Will Heaton, who edged out Stuart Arkett and Brian Arens in their semifinal. The final had multiple momentum swings and saw team Cave make a comeback against team Heaton to force a tiebreaker that would decide the title.  Neil and Liam Cave won the tiebreaker 7 points to 3 to secure the 8-7 match win and take the championship. At 11 years old, Liam Cave becomes the youngest Super Set champion in the tournaments history.

Picture 1 : Ladies ‘A’ Doubles (l to r)  Abbie Straus and Kim Straus ‘A’ Champions,  Jess Lawson and Lindsay Murray ‘A’ Finalists

Picture 2 : Men’s ‘A’ Doubles (l to r)   Mark Barton and Liam Benton ‘A’ Champions, Matt Furlong and Kent McPherson ‘A’ Finalists

Story by Bill White

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The Stratford Tennis Club held its annual Super Set Doubles tournament this past weekend. On a beautiful day for tennis , the 21 teams and many spectators enjoyed a wonderful Saturday in the Park. 

Abbie Straus and Kim Straus ‘A’ Champions,  Jess Lawson and Lindsay Murray ‘A’ Finalists

Mark Barton and Liam Benton ‘A’ Champions, Matt Furlong and Kent McPherson ‘A’ Finalists