Tennis 

Trần Thái Thanh of HCM City will compete in the girls' U12 category in the National Youth and Junior Tennis Championships in Bình Dương Province from May 21-31. Photos of VTF

HÀ NỘI — More than 400 players, some just eight years old, are competing in the National Youth and Junior Tennis Championships in Bình Dương Province.

The annual tournament, kicked off on May 21 at the New Bình Dương City's Tennis Court Complex and is being held by the Việt Nam Tennis Federation (VTF) and the local Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism, under the support of the Becamex IDC.

All the strongest tennis clubs are being representing including HCM City, the Military, Bình Dương, Hà Nội and Đà Nẵng, alongside teams from developing localities such as Lào Cai, Kiên Giang, Bắc Giang and Sơn La.

They will compete in 28 class categories, for boys and girls and mixed, with age groups ranging from under eight to under eighteen. 

Players of Hà Nội check in at the tournament. Last year, Hà Nội secured ten medals taking second place overall.

A new feature of the tournament is the consolation bracket applied for the boys' and girls' singles U14 and U16 categories.

It is a separate tournament within a tournament, where players who lose in the main draw can continue playing, even if they are eliminated from the main event. This format allows players to potentially gain additional matches and playing experience, even if they did not win their initial main draw match. 

Among the notable faces are Đinh Tiến Dũng of Hà Nội (U12), Lê Tiến Anh of the Military and Vũ Tuấn Phong of Hà Nội (U14), Nguyễn Đại Khánh of Becamex, Ngô Hồng Hạnh of the Military and Ngô Bảo Ngân of Đà Nẵng (U18).

They are all showing great potential, after earning medals from international competitions recently.

“The National Youth and Junior Tennis Championships is an essential playground for young players to accumulate practical competition experience and national rankings, and is also an important basis for evaluating and selecting players for national youth teams heading to regional and international arenas", said VTF General Secretary and Vice President Nguyễn Hồng Sơn. 

Matches are conducted under the VTF's regulations, with finals scheduled on May 31. VNS