Kells club ready for Meath tennis championships

Players from Meath and beyond will have an opportunity to show their skills when the 44th Meath Open Tennis Tournament gets underway at Kells this Saturday. The tournament will run for the week with the finals scheduled for Saturday, 3rd July. The tournament was officially launched earlier this month by the main sponsor John O'Reilly of Imperative Energy. The Meath tournament has been played at Kells for over four decades. One of those who will be involved in the tournament again this year is Stephen Strong who played in the Meath Open 41 years ago and he has featured many times since. He will take part this time around as an umpire. "This tournament attracts entries from all over the north east and further afield," said former Tennis Club chairperson and current committee member Nichola Armstrong. "It's a tournament that caters for all abilities and we love to see people coming along and enjoying themselves. It's not just about winning. "The tournament is divided into sections depending on the abilities of the players. We have people taking part from Stackallen, Navan, Longford, Mullingar, Trim, Dublin, Bettystown, Ratoath, Dunshaughlin, all over. "We get people coming back year after year and obviously, as time goes on, they move into different sections. Anyone over 14 can take part in the tournament and we get players with a wide variety of ages." "The current champion of the men's section is Conor Carroll while the holder of the women's title is Michelle Haridman, both from Dublin. Haridman won the title for the first time more than 15 years ago," added Armstrong. Local players have also achieved success in recent times with Daire Gargan and Aoibheann Tully, both Kells Tennis Club, claiming the mixed doubles title last year. The ladies doubles, section two, was claimed last year by Sarah Curran and Hilda Melia while the section three men's doubles title was won by Kells Tennis Club pair of Jimmy Daly and Mick Ryan. Another local combination, Cormac Smith and Melia, bagged the section three mixed doubles.