Kilgraston hosts junior tennis tournament
BUDDING tennis players inspired by Andy Murray’s Wimbledon victory are to get the chance to put their skills to the test in a new junior tournament to be held next month.
The North of Scotland Autumn Open is being served up at Kilgraston School from October 14th to 18th and will involve hundreds of tennis-loving youngsters from across the region and beyond.
In a unique venture, Adam Brown, an award-winning coach based in Stirling, has teamed up with staff at the Bridge of Earn girls’ school to put on the five-day competition during half term.
The 31-year-old had been on the verge of cancelling the county level event after struggling to find a suitable venue for the tournament expected to attract up to 160 players.
Hearing of Adam’s plight, Principal Frank Thompson decided to offer use of the school’s eight astroturf courts for the week.
Adam explained: “There’s a real buzz about tennis in Scotland following Andy Murray’s success. Kilgraston is a wonderful, central location and already familiar to many of our players who compete in the Scottish inter-district championships held at the school every April. The school is within easy reach of Glasgow and Edinburgh and we also have a coach coming down from Inverness with a team of ten to 15 players.
“If the school had not stepped in to host the tournament there wouldn’t have been any competition for youngsters in Scotland this half term. It would have been a real shame as they’d been working hard in training during term-time with school holidays being the ideal time to compete and see they how they compare with the best players in their age group.”
As a former junior county champion for Cumbria, Adam is leading by example. He has represented his home county at senior level for the past sixteen years and has been captain of the men’s side for the last six.
He has worked with top juniors in both Scotland and New Zealand and currently runs district and regional performance squads at the Gannochy National Tennis Centre in Stirling which involve many of Perthshire’s best players.
In 2009 he was made Scottish tennis coach of the year and was also given the Tennis Scotland participation award for organising the country’s most successful tennis event of the year.
Kilgraston Principal Frank Thompson said: “We’re really looking forward to hosting the North of Scotland Autumn Open here at Kilgraston. Adam brings a wealth of experience and talent to this new joint venture. It’s a pleasure to work with him and help to provide more opportunities for competition locally and to encourage youngsters to emulate Andy Murray’s phenomenal achievements.”
Entries for fifteen events, spanning seven age groups from 8 and upwards including singles and doubles, are now open.
Up to 300 matches will be contested throughout the week the giving juniors of all ages the chance to play at a high level locally without having to leave Scotland in search of competition.
Ian Conway, President of Tennis Scotland will present prizes to winning players on Wednesday 16th October and Friday 18th October.
- To enter the North of Scotland Autumn Open visitwww.lta.org.uk or email [email protected]
