Excellent weather and competitive playing provided the winning formula for the Judy Murray Mini Tennis Cup, mounted jointly by the Dunblane Sports Club and the Bridge of Allan and Dunblane Rotary Club.

The fifth year of this competition, open to players aged 5-10 with no previous tournament experience, took place at Dunblane Sports Club on Sunday 23 August.

There were two age groups: the Mini group, aged 5 to 7, and the Juniors aged 8 to 10; each competitor was required to provide a minimum sponsorship of £12. The money raised is divided equally between the Children’s Hospice Association Scotland (CHAS) and the Dunblane Sports Club. The two most successful raisers of sponsorship will receive tuition from Judy Murray. This year, Azelie Neven succeeded in raising the most sponsorship.

On a day of glorious sunshine, but with the challenge of a stiff breeze, some 60 plus young people had a mix of initial warm-up exercises promoting ball and racquet control, led by Judy Murray. She followed this with some fun relay races involving both parents and competitors.

Then to the serious business of the day. The Mini competitors played each other in groups of six, in an American-style competition, with the winner in each group then moving forward to a knockout competition. The Junior competitors followed a similar pattern, leading up to the lunch break, after which the real excitement began.

The four most successful competitors in each group then faced each other in the semi-finals to decide who was to gain the coveted Judy Murray Tennis Cups, together with prizes autographed by Andy Murray himself.

In the Mini group (5 to 7 year-olds), the final was played out by Freddie Mailer and Ciaran Scullion. fter a close match, Freddie managed to win through and gain the cup.

In the Junior group, there was a titanic struggle between Lachie Hunter and Ben Jackson. The two young players demonstrated tennis of an excellent standard which had the watching parents and friends gasping with excitement as the lead passed from one player to the other. The outcome was in doubt until the final set, when, after a number of nail-biting rallies, Lachie succeeded in winning the coveted cup.

Following the presentations to the two winners, each competitor received a certificate of achievement and a keepsake from Judy Murray.