All to play for at champs

There will be short odds about Matt Spooner and Katie Wyeth winning the regional one singles titles when the Wairarapa closed tennis championships get underway at the Masterton Tennis Centre tomorrow.

Spooner, from Carterton, and Wyeth, from Opaki, have compiled impressive records at club and representative level over many years and while they don't take the sport quite so seriously these days their experience and tactical nous should be the deciding factor.

Sternest opposition to Spooner should come from another couple of seasoned campaigners in Luke Atkinson (Masterton), Chad Parsons (Masterton) and Tim Pickering (Martinborough) but Wyeth's toughest test will probably come from juniors Georgia Atkinson and Dushka Warren from Masterton and Bridget Needham from Gladstone.

With only three teams entered for the regional one men's doubles this will be played under a round robin format and a lack of teams means there will be no women's doubles title up for grabs this time round.

Favourites for the regional two men's singles title are Masterton's Peter Hapson and Jamie McMaster of Wairarapa College. Meanwhile, the Wairarapa junior representative tennis teams will play Kapi Mana at Paraparaumu on Sunday in age groups ranging from 10yrs to 16yrs.

For many of these youngsters it will their first time playing out of their own province and some will have the challenge of coming up against players who are impressive national rankings.

The Wairarapa squads are:-

Boys 10yrs: Patrick Hall, Hugo Lau Young, Ben Watt, Daniel O'Boyle.

Boys 12yrs: Henry Phelps, Angus Petrie, Sam Wilkinson, Oscar Lau Young.

Girls 12yrs: Georgia Atkinson, Nicola Wall, Finola O'Boyle, Brooke Lewington.

Boys 14yrs: Johnty Tatham, Scott Day, Ben Wilkinson, Guy Lewis.

Girls 14yrs: Sophie Fitzgerald, Brigette Mossman, Gabby Cresswell, Rebecca Wall.

Boys 16yrs: Jamie McMaster, Jenn Sawathapoon.

Girls 16yrs: Dushka Warren, Becca Perry.