Sale junior Jess Board has been victorious at one of Australia’s largest and most prestigious tournaments, the Annual Tennis Coaches Australia Victoria (TCAV) Gold Junior Age Tournament. Held on 14 to 18 April the 64th annual tournament is the biggest tournament on the Australian Junior Ranking tournament calendar

For 2021 the event attracted over 200 of Australia’s best junior players participating in 12, 14 and 16-and-under boys and girls singles and doubles at 3 en-tout-cas venues; Eaglemont, Donvale and Glen Iris Tennis Clubs. 

Jess was the third seed in a field of 31 entrants in the 16 & Under Girls singles where she used the experience from her home court surface to win through three challenging rounds to make the final.   Being a gold tournament there was a centre chair umpire and linesmen for the final, bringing the event to the level of major tournaments.  Jess was able to handle this additional pressure to take the first set 6 – 3, before losing her first set for the tournament, 4 – 6, and being forced into a third and deciding set.  In a match that lasted nearly 2 and a half hours Jess was able to prevail in the third set, 6 – 4, to take out the prestigious title. 

The win lifted Jess’s Australian women’s singles ranking from 442 to 388.  April was a big month for Jess having won the A Grade singles at the Maffra Easter Tournament, made the semi-final of the Fosterville Gold Bendigo Silver AMT women’s consolation event and.  Next up she has the final of the Kooyong Under 16 Girls singles club championships, the Queensland Claycourt Open Championships in late May and a further event in Canberra where she will again hope to use her experience on the en-tout-cas courts at Sale to her advantage.  

Photo:  Jess Board with the winner’s trophy at Eaglemont