If the results from the weekend Mudgee Junior Development Series are anything to go by, the game is in good hands in the town.
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Some of the best players from nine to 17 hit the local courts to battle it out for precious points to qualify for the South West Champion of Champions event.
Three Mudgee juniors made the playoffs over the weekend, up from just one the year before, with a host of others narrowly missing out.
Mudgee head coach Nathan Wilkins said that improvement is an indication of the growing strength of the junior game at the club.
“It was a really good day of quality tennis all round and all of the games were played in the right spirit,” Wilkins said.
“Which is not always the case when you have some ranking points on offer for the later tournaments.
“It’s just great for all of the kids to see what they are doing in practice is having a real affect on how they are playing in tournaments.”
“We had three kids make the playoffs which is up from one last year. They were Josh Meers, Mia Baggett and Sam Roth.
“They played really solidly across the day to earn those spots, but coming up against the seeded guys, it was a tough one.
“Especially for the likes of Sam and Mia, it was their first tournament and only Josh’s second or third, but they held their own through much of the rest of the day.”
Other Mudgee players to just miss out on the playoffs included Anthea Kearins, Will Wiseman and Maguire Barrow with the trio needing one more win to go through to the next stage.
Wilkins said the mental improvement shown by the players also impressed him.
“Bailey Davis sort of typified how well all of the kids played on the weekend,” he said.
“She played a tournament in Blayney the week before, lost to a girl, but turned around and beat her at Mudgee.
“She was a lot calmer and a lot more focused, so she was absolutely buzzing to turn that result around.
“It’s just great for all of the kids to see what they are doing in practice is having a real affect on how they are playing in tournaments.”