Orange tournament goes like clockwork for Chichester youngsters

Chichester Racquets & Fitness Club hosted its penultimate 2011 summer series junior tennis competition - a nine-and-under mini-orange tournament.

Orange ball is the way players continue their progress from red ball. It is played on slightly larger courts than red ball, with bigger rackets and balls not as soft as red balls.

It’s the last stage before the youngsters start playing on a full-sized court and helps players develop all the different shots, providing fun competition.

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The Chichester club have two purpose-built mini-orange courts on site.

The 2½-hour event had nine entries and began with a round-robin format, and the top two from each group going through to the semi-finals.

Eventually, the final saw Alex Ellison beat Jacob Harding 7-0, 7-2.

Tournament organiser and club coach Peter Cook said: “It was the hottest day of the year so far - the on-court temperature was close to 30 degrees - but everyone gave 100 per cent.

“For many, this was their first-ever competition experience. To come out here in this heat and perform the way they did was fantastic.”