TEENAGE tennis sensations Marielou Baudouin and Noah Pociask have claimed the open singles titles at the Ballina New Year Open tournament.<\/p>\n
Baudouin, 18, from Mullumbimby, won the women\u2019s final for a second time after becoming the youngest female champion at the event in 2024.<\/p>\n
She now plays college tennis at Michigan in the United States and set to return overseas for another semester of competition.<\/p>\n
The final saw her drop the first set against second seed Ava Garner before fighting back to win 6-7, 6-2, 10-4.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was a great final; she will definitely be one to watch in the coming years,\u201d Baudouin said.<\/p>\n
\u201cI played a girl who was in college here two years ago in the final, and it was really good to be able to come back and win it again.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s always great to see the younger girls going well. I\u2019ve had a few players ask me about what I\u2019ve been doing and how they want to do something similar.<\/p>\n
“I definitely recommend doing it, It\u2019s my dream to travel and play professionally.\u201d<\/p>\n
In the men\u2019s final, third seed Noah Pociask overcame sixth seed Zac Creenaune 6-4, 7-6.<\/p>\n
He did not drop a set throughout the tournament with the 16-year-old coming off a national title representing NSW schools last year.<\/p>\n
He is one of the top juniors to come out of Port Macquarie in recent years and hopes to take his game to the next level.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s a great win; there are a lot of fantastic players at this tournament who I know really well,\u201d Pociask said.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was my third time here, and I was confident I could do well if things went my way. I\u2019m really happy with my progress, but I still have a long way to go.\u201d<\/p>\n
The men\u2019s doubles title was won by Mullumbimby duo Onyx Cheong and Che Ward, who defeated the experienced pairing of Robert Dorman and Stephen Gort 7-5, 7-5.<\/p>\n
The four-day tournament attracted almost 200 competitors competing for national ranking points and $5000 in prize money.<\/p>\n
The event was supported by volunteers from the Ballina Tennis Club.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
TEENAGE tennis sensations Marielou Baudouin and Noah Pociask have claimed the open singles titles at the Ballina New Year Open tournament. Baudouin, 18, from Mullumbimby, won the women\u2019s final for a second time after becoming the youngest female champion at the event in 2024. She now plays college tennis at Michigan in the United States […]<\/p>\n