The Champions Under 9 Tournament was played at Rexall Centre in Toronto Nov 7 to 9 this year. Rather than have regional play downs, eligible players were able to get direct entry into the event and as a result 109 players took part in this event more than 50% than those who played in the inaugural event. Players came from all parts of the province including places as far afield as Thunder Bay for the opportunity to compete in the event. The initial part of the competition consisted of round robin play, with top performers going through to a knock out draw with finals being played on Sunday. The two winners, one boy and one girl, will each receive $6,000 of coaching from their pro over the next two years, with the finalists receiving a similar grant but for $4,000.
Stefan Simeunovic of Oakville and Victoria Mboko of Burlington were the champions. While Adrian Smith of Barrie and Madison Lee of Mississauga took finalists’ honours. Stefan participated in the event last year after winning the West Central region play down and a second Stefan Simeunovic of Niagara also qualified for the event in the South West region. It was the other Stefan Simeunovic who won the Champions in 2013. Apparently the boys father’s both have the same name too (Mlad) – quite a coincidence!.
The Champions is the brainchild of Murray Rubin, a life-long tennis enthusiast and member of York Racquets Club in Toronto. Murray and his wife Roda generously support this event both financially and with their presence with the goal of helping to produce a world champion.
Pictured here left to right are: Alexandru Filoti (participation award), Roda Rubin, Rebecca Prediou (Sportsmanship award), Sava Uncianschi (Sportsmanship award), Adrian Smith (Boys’ finalist), Stefan Simeunovic (Boys’ champion), Victoria Mboko (Girls’ champion), Madison Lee (Girls’ finalist) and Murray Rubin.
Photographer Clive Cohen took lots of pictures of the players over the weekend . These are organized by player name and playing time on his website.To check these out and to purchase his photos, please visit www.tennisprints.com.
For more information on the tournament please visit www.tennisontario.com
