Thursday 24 May 2012

2012 Manitoba Rogers Rookie Tour


The highly anticipated Manitoba Rogers Rookie Tour returns to action this Sunday, May 27th at the Winnipeg Winter Club. Tournament director, Robert Kennedy, will place a major focus on introducing players to a friendly, fun competition in an effort to place a positive experience in the minds of our future tennis stars.

The tournament will run a half and three quarter court session from 9:00 am to 10:30 am. The full court and full court transition aspect of the tournament will begin at 10:30 am and run until 12 noon. 

This is a great event to start a love and passion for tennis that can last for a lifetime. 

To register, contact Robert Kennedy at (204) 297-4020 or email at rfkennedy61@gmail.com

See you on the courts!

Wednesday 16 May 2012

Tennis Manitoba’s Junior Nationals Selection Eligibility, Process and Policy

Eligibility
In order to represent Manitoba as a member of Team Prairies at the Rogers Junior National Championships, a junior must be a Canadian citizen and/or permanent resident of Manitoba. Students attending school out of province are eligible assuming they meet the residence criteria.

In addition, a junior must be in good standing with Tennis Manitoba, any other Canadian provincial tennis association and Tennis Canada (membership, financial, discipline, etc.).

Process and Policy
Tennis Manitoba’s (TM) Junior Nationals selection process and policy is designed to foster a competitive TM points race to put forward a team of juniors that competitively best represents Manitoba and supports participation in TM sanctioned junior tournaments. It leads toward the selection of the top three juniors of each gender and age category to compete with Saskatchewan in a Prairies Qualifier (Regionals) for the three spots in each gender and age category available to Team Prairies. TM’s top three are determined by TM sanctioned junior tournament accumulated results and subsequent rankings (which are based on TM’s ongoing fifty-two week ranking system and a “Best N” formulation; see http://tennismanitoba.com/tournaments/junior_tour.html#rank) and respective commitment in writing prior to Regionals to participate in Nationals should they earn a spot.

If a junior who is within TM’s top three does not desire to participate at the Nationals and subsequently is not allowed to participate in Regionals competition, the opportunity is then passed to the junior holding the fourth ranking position.

The junior holding the third position to compete in Regionals may be challenged for that position by a junior granted a wildcard. Wildcards are granted only for extraordinary circumstances. If a junior desires to compete for a Nationals spot and has extraordinary circumstances such that they were not able to participate in sufficient TM sanctioned junior tournaments within their desired age category and/or has a competitive justification for the request, they must notify TM of these in writing thirty (30) days prior to Regionals to be considered for a wildcard.

TM reserves the right to make reasonable discretionary decisions toward the goals of and in concert with the policy regarding issues unforeseen within the policy as it currently stands.

Policy updates and TM sanctioned junior tournament schedule and results will be posted at Tennis Manitoba Junior Tour.

Tuesday 15 May 2012

Fridrik double winner at Deer Lodge Junior Open


Deer Lodge Tennis Club hosted the first tournament of the
2012 TM Junior Tour outdoor season.

The Deer Lodge Junior Open kicked off the 2012 Tennis Manitoba Junior Tour schedule. A total of 33 players took part in the tournament, held May 10-14 at the Deer Lodge Tennis Club. Emily Fridrik was a double winner, claiming top honours in the girls U18 singles and doubles (with Kylie Waschuk). Hannah Blatt, a runner-up in the girls U18 doubles (with Christiana Cholakis), won the girls U14 singles event. Mackenzie Miller went undefeated in her round robin to claim the U12 girls singles title.

On the boys side, Kevin Kylar (U18), Diego Gonzalez (U16), Shawn Sophasath (U14) and David Krowiak (U12) were singles champions. Miraj Soni and Earinpreet Hirkewal teamed up to win the boys U16 doubles title. In the U10 co-ed events, Marcello Audino was the singles winner, while Reece Carter and Sabrina Alano paired up to win the doubles.

For more details, visit Tennis Manitoba Junior Tour.


Monday 14 May 2012

2012 TM Open Tour kicks off at WLTC

The 2012 Tennis Manitoba Open Tour gets underway at the WLTC Open & Senior Championships, being held on May 24th - 27th at the Winnipeg Lawn Tennis Club. Many of this year's TM Open Tour tournaments, designed for open, 3.5 and 4.5 level players, will also include categories for seniors.

Based on last year's success, "drop-down" events will once again replace consolations. Players losing in the first round of the Open category will drop down to 5.0, players losing in the first round of 4.5 drop down to 4.0, and those losing in the first round of 3.5 drop down to 3.0. In the past, consolation draws haven't received the same priority as other events - older balls are used, matches were often pro-sets, and many players default. With the "drop-down" events all matches will be best-of-three sets, good quality balls will be used (like any other event), ranking points will be earned, and prizes will be awarded to the finalists of each event.

Planned stops for the 2012 TM Open Tour are:
  • WLTC Open & Senior Championships at Winnipeg Lawn Tennis Club
  • Deer Lodge Open Plus Seniors at Deer Lodge Tennis Club
  • Sargent Park Tennis Garden Open at Sargent Park Tennis Garden 
  • Manitoba Open at Kildonan Tennis Club
  • Tuxedo Open at Tuxedo Tennis Club
  • $15,000 ITF Manshield Tennis Futures (Wild Card Open) at Sargent Park Tennis Garden
  • WWC Singles Open at Winnipeg Winter Club
  • WWC Doubles Open at Winnipeg Winter Club
The online registration deadline for the WLTC Open & Senior Championships is Sunday, May 20th at 11:59pm.

For more details, check out the 2012 Tennis Manitoba Open Tour schedule.

Sign up for TM Open Tour notifications.

Friday 11 May 2012

'Peg Tennis ace on the rise

Winnipeg's Kylar a late bloomer with big dreams


Winnipeg's Kevin Kylar is proving himself as a tennis ace on Manitoba courts

When it comes to the Winnipeg tennis scene, 17-year-old Kevin Kylar is one of the top young aces around. And that’s why some might find it surprising that Kylar actually got his tennis career off to a late start.

Even though his father George was a tennis professional, Kylar took up the game in 2003 at the age of nine. Many juniors first take the court at age six or seven.

“I remember we were watching TV,” said George Kylar, who serves as Kevin’s coach. “A player was playing with red shoes and he liked them. I told him that they’re tennis shoes and you don’t play tennis, and he said if you buy them for me, I will start.”

Better late than never for Kevin Kylar. He is still considered a junior but Kylar has won many local adult tournaments over the last few years, including the singles title at the 2011 Manitoba Open.

“A few years ago, we said that we would play more adult tournaments than juniors so we’ve added onto that in recent years,” said Kevin Kylar.

In that Manitoba Open, he beat long-time Winnipeg tennis star Doug DeVriendt in the final. DeVriendt hadn’t lost to another Winnipegger in almost 15 years up until that match.

“He said that the minute another Winnipegger beat him, he would hang up his racket,” said Kevin Kylar. Sure enough, DeVriendt has not touched a racket since that loss, according to George Kylar.

Kevin Kylar’s last few months have seen him play more and more on the ITP Men’s Tour, which is considered the third-tier tour for men’s professional tennis, behind the ATP Challenger Tour and the ATP World Tour. Playing in what are called Futures tournaments, Kylar has made stops in California, Oklahoma, Texas, and Arkansas, even winning a few matches in the process against some of the world’s top young rising stars.

“He’s progressing almost weekly,” said George Kylar. “Every tournament he plays on the ITP, he does better than the week before and that’s satisfying as a coach.”

The young Kylar practices daily for a few hours, and rather than just hitting a ball around, he says that playing practice games is crucial.

“It’s important to compete,” said Kevin Kylar. “If you play a lot you can see almost every scenario.”

Kylar still plays junior events locally, including this weekend’s Deer Lodge Open that kicks off the outdoor season of the Manitoba Junior Tour. This is his last year of junior eligibility along with his last year of high school, and Kylar has some important decisions to make.

“I’m looking to go to school and play on a tennis team but I’ll probably take a while off and play some tournaments and see how the offers come in.”

Saturday 5 May 2012

2012 TM AGM Updates

Didn't get a chance to attend Tennis Manitoba's recent annual general meeting? No worries, here are some of the highlights.



To view the above presentation, click on the slide or select arrow buttons to advance slides.

See also:

Friday 4 May 2012

Professional Tennis is Back in Winnipeg


This August, Winnipeg will host its first professional men’s tennis tournament since the 1999 Pan Am Games. The International Tennis Federation (ITF) Pro Circuit will be making a stop in the Manitoba capital for the Manshield Tennis Futures tournament. The inaugural event, which offers a $15,000 USD purse along with valuable ATP tour points, is attracting players from around the world.

Tournament director, George Kylar, says “a key component to the tournament is the opportunity for aspiring local players to obtain valuable ATP points” as the tournament will also stage a pre-qualifying event which will allow a few Manitobans to compete in the main draw.

The professional men’s tour has three levels: the top level, more commonly known as the ATP Tour where the likes of Federer, Djokovic and Nadal play. Below that is the Challenger circuit where it is common for players ranked 75 - 150 on the ATP tour to participate. The entry level for professional tennis is the Futures Circuit. This is where practically each player in the World top 100 started their careers.

Many events have been scheduled during this tournament including a Pro-Am event, a kids’ day and a few celebrity matches. “We’re providing a unique event and an opportunity to experience world class tennis in our great city” say tournament chairman, Mark Arndt who adds “there have been exciting developments in Winnipeg recently. Hopefully bringing in an event with such international flavour will add to the vibe”.

Admission is free throughout the 8 day event which runs August 19th – 26th at Sargent Park Tennis Garden.

Check out the tournament website for updates: www.manshieldtennis.com and follow the tournament on Facebook and Twitter. If you’d like more information contact tournament director, George Kylar at gktennis1@hotmail.com or tournament chairman, Mark Arndt at mark@outfitters.ca.