The 2023 Nexus Junior Tennis Tour Finals took place at Exeter Golf and Country Club on Saturday 9th September.
The finals saw the top players on the mixed 12U and 16U boys leaderboard compete for the title. The circuit takes place between January and July at venues across Devon.
Congratulations to the players in both age groups who qualified for the finals:
12U: Natalia H (Kingsteignton), Daniel N (Dawlish), Aleksander K (Torquay), Nathan F (Ilfracombe), Archie E (Hill Lane) and Troy E (ARC)
16U: Ashley S (Exeter GCC), James S, Karan B (Heavitree), Angus W (South Devon Tennis Centre), Alex W (Exeter GCC), Edward G (Exeter GCC) and Jake L (Willand)
Played on a glorious late summer afternoon, there were plenty of close matches in both events.
The 12U competition was run as two round robin groups followed by play-offs. Special mention must go to Natalia (the 12U leaderboard winner) who played two epic round robin matches with both going the distance in championship tie-breaks. The winners of each group contested the final with Nathan facing Aleksander. Nathan prevailed 4-2 4-2 to finish as the 2023 12U champion.
The 16U boys was a knockout event with a consolation draw. Alex and James played out the closest quarter final with a tight championship tie-break being required to separate them. Alex won 4-0 2-4 10-8 to progress to the semi-finals. He came up against a familiar opponent from the same club, Ashley, who used the slower clay courts to his advantage. In the final, Ashley once again faced one of his friends and teammates from Exeter Golf and Country Club, and last year’s winner, Edward. In what was guaranteed to be a close encounter, Ashley held his nerve in the second set tie-break to win the Nexus title for the first time.
The prizes and trophies were presented by Nexus Managing Director, Stuart Wilson, who congratulated all of the players for their efforts on the day and in reaching the finals.
The Nexus tour will continue over the winter season with a series of one-off tournaments taking place. The full tour will return in January 2024.
