Tennis is experiencing remarkable growth in Fiji, where it is one of the country’s oldest sports. The Vodafone Suva Open Tennis Championship kicked off last week, attracting 115 participants, an increase from 95 players the previous year.
Sumit Lal, the coach for the tournament and a Fiji national representative in tennis, praised the players for overcoming various challenges to compete. He noted a significant turnout across all categories and emphasized the importance of developing junior players, who he believes are the future of the sport. To support this, the Suva Tennis Association has introduced junior grades this year and is committed to hosting numerous competitions for these young athletes.
In the semi-finals held yesterday, notable results included Uraia Ratu defeating Nethuka Mayon 8-2 in the 14 & Under Boys Singles, while Liam O’Donnell won against Zaraan Singh 8-0. In the Over 45 Singles, Praphul Prabhu triumphed 8-0 over Tarei Weeks, and Massimo Camassei won 8-3 against Eddy McCall. In the 16 & Under Boys Singles, Ziqi Gao beat Koresi Robanakadavu 8-3, and Rezwan Khan won 8-5 against Nethuka Mayon. In the Open Men’s Singles, Raynal Singh defeated Sumit Lal 6-4, 6-2, while Junior Benjamin won against Ao Li 6-3, 6-3. In the Social Men Singles category, Hiroki Someda edged out Shivaan Kumar 8-6, and Praphul Prabhu overcame Anirban Mahapatra 8-4. In the Over 100 Combined Doubles, Rigamoto Kamoe and Andrew Mailtorok won 8-4 against Jean Bentley and Miles Young. Lastly, in the Open Men’s & Women’s Doubles, Junior Benjamin and Ao Li secured a victory over Joonhyeok and Bing Low with a score of 6-3, 6-3.