Under 18 Real Tennis Open
Levi Gale aged 15 from Walditch recently had a very successful trip to Chateau de Fontainebleau in France, to compete in the French Junior Open Real Tennis tournament.
Arriving a day before the event enabled Levi to practise on the largest Real Tennis court in the world. He soon got to grips with the dimensions of the court which hosted the Mens 2008 World Championship final. On day one of the competition Levi topped the Under 16s group without losing a single game, thus ensuring his place in the final. The Under 18 category offered tougher competition but again Levi topped his group convincingly. On day two the finals took place and in the Under 16 final Levi beat Alex Foix 6/0 6/0 to become a very deserving winner of the Under 16 silver plate. An adult exhibition match followed between the French no. 1 and the head professional of Fontainebleau. The day was rounded off by the showpiece Under 18 final which saw Levi take on defending champion 17 year old Baudouin Huynh-Lenhardt. In a pulsating match played in front of a packed gallery of club members and tourists Levi took victory once again with a final score of 6/2 6/4; making him the first British player to win the Under 18 category since the competition's inauguration.
Levi will carry on playing at the Hyde Real Tennis Club in Walditch under the guidance of head professional Ben Ronaldson, in preparation for very stiff competition at the British Under 18 Open tournament at The Queen's Club in London next August.