Sponsored Tennis Tourney Next Week

Press, Volume XCVIII, Issue 28802, 24 January 1959, Page 5

Sponsored Tennis Tourney Next Week

VITHEN the annual B.P. Corona- ’ ’ tion lawn tennis tournament is held in Christchurch next week —the first time in the South Island—players will have an added incentive of a visit to Australia. The winners will participate in the age and schools championship of New South Wales during the May holidays, and they will be away from New Zealand for 10 days to two weeks. Each year the Coronation tournament brings the cream of secondary school players under 18 throughout New Zealand into competition, whereas they might not meet in the national junior championships. Sixth Time The tournament at Wilding Park on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday, will be the sixth competition for the Coronation Cup for boys and the Coronation rose bowl for girls, presented to the New Zealand Lawn Tennis Association to commemorate the coronation of the Queen. The first tournament, in 1954, was at Wellington. Since then they have been held at Hamilton, Napier, Hutt Valley and last year at Gisborne. Players representing the more isolated associations have been

encouraged to take part in this tournament for their other chances of playing against better players are limited. Young players who have later come to the fore in senior tennis have taken part in the tournament since its institution and Canterbury’s record is better than that of any other province. Of the 10 wins—five for boys and five for girls—Canterbury has had five, Auckland three, Otago one and Wellington one. Most outstanding performance has been that of Miss J. Davidson, of Canterbury, who held the trophy three years in succession —1954-55-56. Since then Miss E. Bryant, of Auckland, won in 1957, and Miss E. Green, also of Auckland, won last year. The boys’ winners been: 1954, D. Shaw (Otago); 1955, A. Huston (Canterbury); 1956, R. Wong (Auckland); 1957, G. Judge (Canterbury); 1958, X Souter (Wellington). Souter's Chances Souter, a 16-year-old pupil of Wellington College, will compete again this year and, from his performances in the top class of New Zealand senior tennis, he should have little difficulty holding his trophy. He played in the age and schools championships in New South Wales last year. Canterbury’s contenders will be G. Moss, of Linwood High School, playing in the tournament for the third time, and L. Walpole or P. Alexander, of Christchurch Boys’ High School. The three Wellington players, Souter, R. Clarke and R Hawkes, look most formidable. Last year’s girls’ winner, Miss Green, will also defend her trophy and the Canterbury contenders in the girls’ section are Misses J. Hatch, J. Andrews, and K. Reece. It will be Miss Andrews’s second attempt. Miss Green, a hardhitting ‘ left-hander with, a good record in Auckland, is also likely to be at least a finalist again. However, with the prospect of a visit to Australia —an addition made by the sponsors with the intention of developing the tournament and also to commemorate the fiftieth anniversary of the founding of the B.P. group of companies—the competition should be hard.