Tennis: Tamai returns to head tennis side

The Rotorua men's tennis team will be in action this weekend when they face off against Thames. Pictured is (from left) Shaun Tamai, Jesse Galvin-Dawson, Ryan Beamish, Lionel Rogers, Nick Beamish and James Wilce. Photo / Ben Fraser

It has been 12 years since Shaun Tamai last swung a racket in a competitive tennis match.

As a teenager he was ranked number three in the country and was the New Zealand and Maori under-18 champion.

"At that time I was doing quite well, travelling the world and playing tennis," he said. "But I had quite a bad car accident which put me out for six to nine months.

"In that time I found there was another life than tennis."

He ended up leaving competitive tennis altogether.

Now, more than a decade on, he has decided to make his return and represent Rotorua in the new Senior Regional Premier Interclub competition. The competition will be contested between tennis clubs from across Waikato and Bay of Plenty.

"I took a bit of time off and finally put my A into G and got back in the sport," he said.

"I have played socially but this is my first time back on the competitive scene."

He said mentally he had matured a lot and was looking forward to taking on the best players in the region.

The Rotorua-born-and-bred tennis player will play as number one for Rotorua tomorrow, during the first fixture of the season against Thames in Thames.

The Rotorua men's team is made up of players from the Rotorua Tennis Club and Lynmore Tennis Club, with a maximum of five players taking part in each fixture. There is also a Rotorua women's team who will play in the Senior Regional Premier Interclub women's competition.

Tamai said the new competition, which features 10 men's teams and will run until April, was an exciting new initiative.

"I think it is awesome, I think it is great for tennis," he said.

Before this competition was launched, tennis players in Rotorua simply played in the Tauranga competition, which ran for about two months before Christmas.

"It is hoped the new competition will strengthen tennis in the wider Waikato and Bay of Plenty area.

Tamai said while the competition was shaping up well, it was his two daughters Vienna, 4, and Zeeah, 8, who got him back into the sport.

Vienna has been training for the last three or four years and Tamai thought he could help her out, by getting involved in the game again.

"I hope she will be the next Serena and Venus," he joked. His other daughter also played.

Tamai said his nephew Lionel Rogers was also returning to competitive tennis and would play this Saturday.

The Rotorua men's team competing in Thames tomorrow includes Tamai, Jesse Galvin, Rogers and Ryan Beamish.

Rotorua tennis teams (only five players can play in each fixture):

Men's
Shaun Tamai
Sean Martin
Jesse Galvin-Dawson
James Wilce
Lionel Rogers
Ryan Beamish
Nick Beamish
Raniera Maxwell

Women's:
Pang Suwanaposee
Zara Douglas
Weiwei Verran
Leona Davis-Kaye
Aliya Edwards
Debbie Dowland
Lara Wild