Tule wins Ball Boys Tennis

A petite 16-year-old JHS 3 pupil of the Adum Presbyterian School, Tule Adongo, took youth tennis to another level with amazing rally and technique to dethrone the defending champion of the annual Ball Boys tournament, Evans Tinduug, 7-3 in the final in Kumasi last Saturday.

The over-confident Evans, surprisingly lost his rhythm from the start and barely recovered as Tule kept his composure to pummel the tall Evans with ease.

Tule took an unassailable 4-0 lead before Evans' temporary recovery but slumped again after several foot faults and bad returns.

Tule accelerated with his gifted backhand and forehand ground strokes to keep Evans constantly at the base to seal the game comfortably to bring an end to Evans' long reign.

On his way to the final, Tule defeated Thomas Abatokora 6-3 and Bismark Adonaoga 6-0, while Evans who drew a bye in the first round beat Isaac Balotiga 6-3.

Tule received a giant trophy, a cash prize donated by the sponsor of the one-day competition, Major Lawyer Franklin Gyamerah-Amoako, and a cell phone donated by Opana Phones.

The annual competition, organised by the 4 Garrison Officers Mess Tennis Club in Kumasi, was to move the budding talents from the backstage to the main court to harness them for future competitions.

Eight ball boys mainly from the club competed in the tournament. It also afforded the senior players a rare opportunity to act as 'ball boys' for the day.

Senior military officer, Major Gyamerah-Amoako, promised to continue with the sponsorship for a long time to come while promising to enhance the package.

The president of the club, Samuel Ampadu-Kyei, urged members to join the sponsorship drive to give hope to youth tennis.

He said with a pool of resources, more competitions could be organised for the ball boys to prepare them for major international tournaments.