Local talent had the chance to test their mettle across the weekend, with people travelling from as far as Queensland to take part in the Inverell Tennis Club's tournament.
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The Club hosted the 2021 Vineyard Joinery Inverell Silver AMT/JT, and while numbers were down to what would normally be expected, locals like Brent Reading and Daniel Helsdingen enjoyed the tough competition.
While coming out second in the B Grade Men's Doubles on Monday against seed number 1 Naia Coyle and Myron Papadimitriou, both came away winners in other sections.
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Reading, with partner Arthur Tighe, took the crown 8 - 6 in the Special Men's Doubles, in a grueling one hour match.
"It was really great to get back out on the courts and play tennis again," Reading said.
He hadn't played tennis for 16 years prior, and his last tournament was 20 years ago - a few injuries, and a dwindling passion kept him away.
But Helsdingen convinced him to come back, and he was thankful for it.
"It was great to Inverell host such a big tournament like this," Reading said.
"It was also great to see so many players from places like Brisbane and the Sunshine Coast comes and support small towns this way."
Helsdingen said it was the best he'd felt in a tournament.
He came away with a win with partner Remy Smith against Lincoln Taylor and Amy Martin 9 - 8 in the Open Mixed Doubles.
"It was great to play with Brent in the Men's Doubles, it was really great competition - it was great to play against Naia Coyle, he has such talent."
They weren't the only locals to snatch a win across the tournament, with young Kaylee Wilcott and her Boggabri partner Chelsea Nobil taking out the Under 10 Girls Doubles on Sunday.
"It was really unexpected, I didn't think the competition would be as tough as what it was," she said.
"It was quite challenging, but it was really good to go up against them."
The young Inverellian has been playing tennis for a while, getting into it as her mother thought it'd be a great family activity.
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