The first-ever champions of the inaugural Pro Kennex International Premier Tennis Challenge were crowned at Selborne Park in East London this weekend.
The five-day event saw over 130 players including players from as far across Botswana, Zimbabwe and Lesotho vie for titles in boys, girls, men and women across five age group categories - under 10, 12, 14, 16 and Open.
The women’s singles final featured the country’s leading women’s player Chanel Simmonds and Bloemfontein’s Delien Kleinhans.
Experienced Simmonds proved to be too strong for Kleinhans as she emerged victories in straight sets 6-2, 6-3 to lift the women’s title.
Simmonds returned to the court shortly after her singles win with Sinazo Solani of Boland. The top seeds topped Kleinhans and Gauteng Central’s Sarah Millard 6-4, 6-1 to bag the doubles title.
In the men’s open event, seventh-seeded Alec Beckley of Johannesburg squared off with Jody Claassen in one of the breath-taking matches of the day. Beckley took the match in an epic 7-6(6), 6-3.
Source: Tennis South Africa