Tennis is experiencing remarkable growth in Fiji, a country where the sport has a long-standing history. The Vodafone Suva Open Tennis Championship kicked off last week, attracting 115 players, a notable increase from last year’s 95 participants.
Sumit Lal, the coach for the tournament and a national representative in tennis, expressed admiration for the players who faced various challenges and still performed impressively. He emphasized the strong turnout across all categories. The Suva Tennis Association is focusing on nurturing junior players, believing they are the future of the sport. To support this, they have introduced junior grades this year and are committed to organizing numerous competitions for young athletes.
“This year, we have launched junior grades because we believe these players are our future stars. It is essential to provide them with ample competition,” Lal stated.
In the semi-finals held yesterday, the results included: Uraia Ratu defeating Nethuka Mayon 8-2 and Liam O’Donnel winning against Zaraan Singh 8-0 in the 14 & Under Boys Singles. In the Over 45 Singles, Praphul Prabhu won 8-0 against Tarei Weeks, while Massimo Camassei triumphed over Eddy McCall 8-3. In the 16 & Under Boys Singles, Ziqi Gao beat Koresi Robanakadavu 8-3, and Rezwan Khan emerged victorious against Nethuka Mayon 8-5. In the Open Men’s Singles, Raynal Singh defeated Sumit Lal with scores of 6-4, 6-2, and Junior Benjamin also won against Ao Li 6-3, 6-3. The Social Men’s Singles saw Hiroki Someda narrowly beat Shivaan Kumar 8-6, while Praphul Prabhu won 8-4 against Anirban Mahapatra. Additionally, Rigamoto Kamoe & Andrew Mailtorok won the Over 100 Combined Doubles 8-4 against Jean Bentley & Miles Young. In the Open Men’s & Women’s Doubles, Junior Benjamin & Ao Li claimed victory over Joonhyeok & Bing Low with a score of 6-3, 6-3.