Junior Mixed Doubles Championships Fun Twist to Game

Woods Park Tennis Center in Lincoln held the first-ever Nebraska Junior Mixed Doubles Championships on Saturday, Aug. 8. The event was open to all junior players 18-years old and under. Twenty doubles teams from across the state came out for the event.

“We had a great turnout,” said Talor Wain, event organizer. “Play consisted of round-robin matches with a playoff for everyone regardless of where they finished. The weather was hot, and so was the tennis, and we can’t wait to build on it again next year and continue to grow this unique event.”

Players were split into four pools, with five teams in each pool. Each pool had two seeded pairs, with the other three pairs randomly assigned. Each pair played the other four in the pool in a first to six set (tie-break at 6 all) with no-ad scoring. 

At the end of pool play, all players moved on to the knockout portion of the tournament. All first place finishers were placed in a knock-out draw against each other, as were all second place finishers and down the line of the order of finish in all the pools. 

A pair of players from Lincoln - Caden Haar and Corinne Barber won their pool and the first place pool. 

Earlier in the summer a similar event was held in Bridgeport for junior players in western Nebraska. The free event was sponsored by the Western Nebraska Tennis Club. Both site organizers hope to expand and grow the tournaments next year to give young players more opportunities.