The recent Rob Wright West Kootenay Open Tournament, hosted by the Nelson Tennis Club (NTC), drew 72 entries—the largest in its 28-year history.
Competitors came from as far away as Canmore, Kelowna, Salmon Arm, Grand Forks, and Vernon, with a very high calibre showing.
While the competition was strong, the local talent still came away with some of the top prizes. Emma Nassr from Nelson walked away with the women’s singles title—for the second year in a row—and a fiercely-fought men’s doubles final saw Jamie Tanner and Mike Dickinson, also from Nelson, come out on top.
Completing the solid showing from Nelson players were Sandra Bernier and Brenda Thomas who won the women’s doubles. The men’s singles title was won by a dazzling performance from 17-year-old Aashish Yelamanchili from Kelowna. Joel De Pfyffer and Krista Martens, also from Kelowna, won mixed doubles.
In the B division, Frank Benzce from Vernon won the men’s singles, Ron Remple and Jim Baergren from Canmore took the men’s doubles, and the mixed doubles by Grant Stanley and Laura Garza from Kelowna.
“The feedback from the players has been fantastic,” said tournament director Ron Stinson.
“We could not have delivered it without the volunteers and of course the support of many local businesses”.
“The quality of tennis here just keeps on getting better,” added Stinson.
“And being able to host large tournaments like this only inspires us to improve further.”
Rob Wright, together with former NTC President Keith Bridger, was central to the revitalization of the tennis courts—along with new pickleball courts and a basket-ball area—at LVR School.
Participation in the racquet sports at the site has increased more than five-fold since it opened in 2018.
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