The 99th annual Benalla Lawn Tennis Tournament has been run and won, with more than 200 competitors battling it out in scorching conditions from January 3 to 5 to be crowned champion.
Despite the deep field, there would be no stopping 2024 champions Nicholas Vicary or Savannah James, with the duo going back-to-back in the men’s and women’s open singles, respectively.
Benalla Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club president David O’Donoghue hailed the weekend as a huge success, with participation numbers through the roof compared to recent years.
“It was probably one of the most successful tournaments we’ve had for 15 years, it was great,” he said.
“We had 220 individual players play over the three days, last year we (had) about 145 I think, so up probably 33 per cent on last year, which is a big jump.”
With temperatures hovering in the mid to high 30s across the weekend, the heat caused minor disruptions to the schedule, with finals abandoned in a number of sections, although play was able to continue as planned for the most part.
"It wasn’t too bad, we didn’t play too many finals,” O’Donoghue said.
“We just reduced the time of play a little bit especially on the Saturday, it was pretty hot, and then Sunday was even hotter, but we’d finished by about lunchtime, so it wasn’t too bad, we’ve got plenty of shade down there.”
Even with the heat-affected schedule, the feedback from participants was overwhelmingly positive, O’Donoghue said, with the opportunity to play on lawn courts a real highlight for many.
“Oh yeah, they were great, (the feedback) was all positive,” he said.
“It’s just a real fun tournament, a lot of people, most of them come up from Melbourne to play on the lawn, which they love playing on, which is good, and the feedback was great.”
With the 99th edition done and dusted, attention now turns to the century celebrations next year, with plans already being made to ensure it’s the biggest and best tournament yet.
“We are certainly going to have some sort of gala night on the Saturday night, just more as a ‘back to’ for anyone who has been part of the club,” O’Donoghue said.
“We’ve got a bit of work to do between now and then obviously, but we are planning a big night for the past players and even the present players are at the tournament as well, so we’ll just see, but we’ll definitely be doing something.”
2025 Benalla Lawn Tennis Tournament Champions
Singles Competition – Friday, January 3
• Men’s Open Singles
Nick Vicary defeated Bruce Ferguson 8-3
• Ladies Open Singles (round robin played)
Winner: Savannah James (won all her three sets)
Runner-up: Abbie Allen
• Men’s A-grade Singles
Connor Ferris defeated Marcus Frajman 6-2
• Women’s A Singles
Winner:Marja Wondergem
Runner-up: Meg Cooke
• Men’s B Singles — Group A and D
Winner: Julius Bernaudo
Runner Up: Ryan Behr
• Men’s B Singles — Group B and C
Winner: Adam Needleman
Runner-up: Andrew Macneill
• Women’s C Singles (round robin) — Group A
Winner: Holly Stute
Runner-up: Ava Macneill
• Women’s C Singles (round robin) — Group B
Winner: Giulia Franceschi
Runner-up: Danielle Lawrence
• Men’s C Singles (round robin) — Group A
Winner: Tomislav Razumic
Runner-up: Brad Buss
• Men’s C Singles (round robin) — Group B
Winner: Dion Belbruno
Runner-up: Lachlan Tesmer
• Boys Under-10 Green Series
Group A – Ernie Buerckner
Group B – Aimkhant Kyin
• Girls Under-10 Green Series
Winner: Ella Forde
Runner-up: Maisie Fitzpatrick
• Girls Under-12 Singles (round robin)
Winner: Tilly Forde
Runner-up: Taylah Chessels
• Boys Under-12 Singles (round robin)
Winner: Joseph Dorrington
Runner Up: Noah Percy
• Boys Under-12 Singles (round robin)
Winner: Claye Corcoran
Runner-up: Jaydon Yap
• Boys Under-14 Singles (round robin)
Winner: Harry Wren
Runner-up: Thomas Lawrence
Mixed competition — Sunday, January 5
• Mixed Open Doubles
Ashley and Abbie Allen, Matt and Mandy Allen, Laura McDonald and Josh Bennier. Very competitive competition so three winners were awarded, all on same set numbers
• Mixed B Doubles
Winners: Patrick Neilson and Simone Weston
Runners-up: Lachlan Tesmer and Sue Piper
• Mixed C Doubles Group A
Winners: Andrea Continetto and Giulia Franceschi
Runners-up: Henry Russell and Lia Curcio
• Mixed C Doubles Group B
Winners: Michael and Janet Crisfield
Runners-up: Grigore Olaru and Dana Visescu
• Mixed C Doubles Group C
Winners: Christopher and Treena McNair
Runners-up: Andrew and Ava Macneill
• Mixed D Doubles
Winners – Danielle and Thomas Lawrence
Runners-up: Bill and Holly Wilson
• Mixed Under 14 Doubles
Winners: Harry Wren and Billie Buerckner
Runners-up: Noah Percy and Taylah Chessels
Doubles — Saturday, January 4
• Women’s Open
Winners: Abbie and Robyn Allen
Runners-up: Ashleigh Hasler and Tamara Jungwirth
• Women’s A Grade
Winners: Sheryn Long and Karen Ranson
Runners-up: Bronte McGregor and Meg Cooke
• Men’s Open
Winners: John Brunner and Matt Allen
Runners-up: Andrew Caldwell and Joel Compagnino
• Men’s A Grade Group A
Winners: Marcus Frajman and Geoff Rosenberger
Runners-up: Dave Postlewaite and Ash Weston
• Men’s A Grade Group B
Winners: Matthew Chard and Oscar Paxton
Runners-up: Cameron Bayne and Benjamin Tole
• Men’s A Grade Group C
Winners: Brad Hasler and Sanjeet Mihiripenna
Runners-up: Michael Kelly and Bede Redfern
• Men’s B Doubles — Group A
Winners: Paul Henshall and Jim Long
Runners-up: Mark McDonald and Colin Robson
• Men’s B Doubles — Group B
Winners: Ryan Behr and Adam Needleman
Runners-up: Carmine and Matthew Adamo
• Men’s B Doubles — Group C
Winners: Todd Finn and Justin Hunter
Runners-up: Esala Gunatilake and Ralph Turco
• Men’s B Doubles — Group D
Winners: Dion Belbruno and Henry Russell
Runners-up: John and Jack Forde
• Women’s C Doubles
Winners: Giulia Franceschi and Mary Thornton
Runners-up: Briana and Treena McNair
• Men’s C Doubles — Group A
Winners: Adam and Jarrah Wight
Runners-up: Brad Buss and Alex Robertson
• Men’s C Doubles — Group B
Winners: Leigh Corcoran and Shaun Reynolds
Runners-up: Andrew and Michael Crisfield
• Women’s D Doubles
Winners: Melissa Crisfield and Holly Stute
Runners-up: Ava and Kathryn Macneill
• Men’s D Doubles
Winners: Chris Lindsay and Dale Stratton
Runners-up: Andrew and Connor Macneill
• Under-10 Boys Doubles
Winners: Aimkhant Kyin and Beau Lawrence
Runners-up: Patrick Delany and Alex Manning
• Under-10 Girls Doubles
Winners: Lily Johnston and Wren Manning
• Under-12 Boys Doubles – Group A
Winners: Cassius Khalil and Jaydon Yap
Runners-up: Claye Corcoran and Spence Reynolds
• Under-12 Boys Doubles — Group B
Winners: Archie Delany and Alastair Ross
Runners-up: Henry and Noah Walker
• Under-12 Girls Doubles
Winners: Ella and Tilly Forde
Runners-up: Annabelle Buerckner and Charlotte Wren
• Under-14 Boys Doubles
Winners: Thomas Lawrence and Tague Saunders
Runners-up: Taylah Chessels and Patrick Stratton