Almost 100 players are set to descend on the Katherine Tennis Club this weekend for the 2019 edition of the Katherine Open. Over three days (May 4-6), the Northern Territory’s best players and most promising juniors will compete for a prizemoney pool of $2,000, national rankings points as well as enjoy junior and social events.
In the Open Men’s events, last year’s semi-finalists Ethan Scobie (Alice Springs) and Kenneth Prete (Darwin) are returning and will have a tough time of it again this year with players in the draw like Peter Politis and Patrick Findlay who are ranked 3rd and 4th in the NT. A few interstate players are joining them, including the top seed from Queensland, Brandon Truong and Jarron Kretschmann from Western Australia.
In the Open Women’s events, the NT’s top two ranked players will be the top two seeds: Keely Bishop and Rosie Henderson. Keely, who is now ranked in the top 200 in Australia, is returning to the Katherine Open for the first time since 2014, while Rosie is an annual visitor and has previously won two singles titles in 2016, 2017 and the doubles title in 2018.
The local crop of Katherine players may not be the tournament favourites to win but it’s great to see a handful of locals joining in. Michael and Andrew Jazyschyn are the only local players with national rankings and are competing in junior events. Michael is also playing his first Open level events and will be joined by local players Greg Dickson and Lewis Lampton. Participating in social events are Nathan Mathas, Mary-Anne Philip and Josh Zdanowicz, while a group of juniors are also competing including Eugene Bolton and Ellie Dohl in the Under 12s competitions.
The 2019 Katherine Open is made possible by the generous support of our sponsors: NJ Homes, Advanced Plumbing, Katherine Sports and Family Chiropractic, and Katherine Solar. Thanks also to Blast Coffee and Pop Rocket Cafe for prize donations.
Katherine Tennis Club welcomes all visiting players to this year’s Katherine Open and hopes everyone enjoys the competitions. First rounds kick off from 8am Saturday, culminating in finals played on Monday morning. Visitors are welcome to check out the action can keep track of results and schedules via the tournament website: https://tournaments.tennis.com.au/sport/tournament.aspx?id=FCCE4B48-F4CC-4D61-9B48-9E89E5D9EE3E.