More than 40 youngsters took part in the Manders Tennis Management Red Ball Championships at the Fairmont Southampton Tennis Club last weekend.

The tournament used a red ball throughout, which is slower and used on smaller courts to allow children to be more successful.

In the under-10 boys’ divisions, the winners were Ethan Anderson, Tobiah Goodschild, Cyre Trott, and Xavier Da Ponte, while the runners-up were Max Kimberley, Zacchaeus Grant, Dimitri Gantcharov, and David Sainsbury.

The winner in the girls’ under-10 division was Avani Patton and the runner-up was Zipphorah Grant.

In the under-8 divisions, the winners were Tristan Petit, and Kal-El Smith, while the runners-up were Jude Lefebrve, and Oliver Chow.

The winner of the girls’ under-8 division was Sienna Outtrim and the runner-up was Cora Desilva. Ollie Anderson was the winner in the under-6 category and the runner-up was Ryan Walker.

Gavin Manders, the tournament director, said: “We had around 150 people come out to support the event on Sunday, and the day truly is a reflection of what MTM represents.

“We had children from all over the island, there learning how to win and lose together in a fun educational environment.”

Jovan Jordan-Whitter, the MTM academy director, said: “It was great to see some of the Bermuda’s young talent on display in a competitive but fun format.

“We were lucky enough to receive players from the majority of tennis facilities around the island. It’s important for us to get our future athletes in the sort of environment where they have to work through their emotions to complete a task and where they have to problem-solve while dealing with trying to win.

“It helps to build character on court and in life at an early age as well as fostering leadership qualities.”

The competition also featured an under-6 division of 12 players, who received points for making contact with the ball, and hitting it over the net.

Manders added: “MTM will continue to strive to do its part to grow tennis in Bermuda, and we will continue to use our passion for the sport, to help grow Bermuda’s next generation of tennis players.

“Some of the players’ understanding of the game at such a young age was quite impressive. There were quite a few children who just want to hit the ball really hard without actually understanding that there is an appropriate time and effective way to do it. However, a lot of these kids clearly understood the importance of consistency and control.”