Emma Dawson with her proud father Mike

ON SUNDAY the East Dorset under 9s tennis team were victorious in beating the West Hants under 9s B team in the Dorset Mini Leagues tournament, with an overall score of 22 – 2.

The tournament took place last Sunday at the well known West Hants Tennis Club in Bournemouth.

In total there were 20 singles matches where all players managed to play against everyone, and four doubles. East Dorset won all the matches apart from 2 singles matches.

One parent, Colin Gray, expressed his delight with his son Eden, and said:

“My son Eden won the only two matches against East Dorset so I’m ecstatic and very proud.”

One father, Mike Dawson, said:

“My wife and I are very proud of our daughter, Emma who plays for East Dorset.

"It takes a lot of dedication from the young players though, they have many tournaments and train four times a week.”

For some parents, however, the training costs can be quite tough, particularly in today’s economic climate.

Susan Herbert, mother of Louis, 9, from the East Dorset Team said:

“It’s difficult for Louis as I know most tennis players in his group get one-on-one lessons with coaches regularly but we really cannot afford that right now."

“The average cost for one of the sessions is £20, which is quite a lot for us.”

The match was organized by the Lawn Tennis Association (LTA) which is working in partnership with progressive tennis clubs who will offer quality assured year round programmes for Mini tennis.