ITALY OVERWHELM US IN FINAL MATCH

Although we were given a good “klap” from Italy and did not manage to win a match, it was felt that the girls played some of their best tennis of the week.

It was very tough for our boys who came up against the giant sized Italians but they had a very close and competitive doubles which lasted just over two hours.

Due to the rain the matches were moved to an indoor venue and the Italian coach admitted that they played their best tennis indoors as they did not have the problematic balance issues that are encountered outdoors on the clay surface.

The final results of the Compass World Wide Junior challenge saw the USA crowned as champions with Italy runners up. Uruguay were third, Japan fourth, SA fifth and India in sixth position.

But huge congratulations to Linge Steenkamp who was awarded the girls Sportsmanship Award at the end of the event.

So a wonderful experience is over for the team and three now go to play in the ITF tournament before heading back home later next week. The time spent both on court and off court with the many and varied experiences they had as they were continually introduced to Japanese culture, will live long in their memories. 

In the past this event has been the launching pad for some of our now senior players who have gone to greater heights thanks to this opportunity of playing against some of the best juniors in the world. 

This really is a case of the Olympic Oath where the taking part is greater than winning. Our juniors have taken part on the world stage and will be the richer and wiser for this experience and we are sure they will garner so much from the opportunity.