Waihi Tennis Club welcomed a raft of juniors (and some of the not-so-young), to a tennis clinic facilitated by Dutch Club Pro Sven Van Touw.

Twenty-one players attended the clinic, which featured juniors vs seniors battle (won 2-1 by the juniors). The players had to battle through hail, rain and wind, but the morning was overall a "great success in getting youngsters enrolled for tennis coaching in term 4 for a fit and active summer", said Sven.

Sven, who was once ranked by the International Tennis Federation, owns his own coaching business, set up after arriving from the Netherlands four years ago. Sven said his goal is to "stimulate our communities' fitness and mental wellbeing on the top-class tennis courts in town".

His company Core Tennis runs coaching across four clubs locally, including Waihi, Waihi Beach, and Katikati. Sue O'Brien from the Waihi Club said Sven has brought a lot of enthusiasm to their tennis programme and has "decided to take up his passion", and as a result, the club now has Core Tennis' programme running throughout the year.

Sue said club numbers are in a healthy state for the start of the summer season, with 34 fulltime members, 16 juniors, and a number of casual fee payers. Social teams play on Tuesdays, A grade on Wednesdays and casual players hit the court mid-morning anytime.

Sue said, "after things became stagnant with Ccovid, new members are still welcome and we will be starting to play regular interclub soon."

Sven can be reached for coaching via his website coretennisconsultancy.co.nz and the club at https://clubspark.kiwi/WaihiBeachTennisClub/Coaching/Junior