The Australian Open is the biggest event for Racquetball in Australia, and with the number of events at the Championships, it isn’t hard to understand why!
The tournament began on Friday 14th October, and held not only a Men’s and Women’s Open tournament, but also a Mixed, Graded A-F, Junior, and Doubles tournament all in the one event. The success of the event was highlighted when the Australian Open reached record numbers this year.
The Australian Racquetball Tournament Circuit Manager and Manager of Australian Racquetball, Paul Vear deemed the event “very successful”.
The Albury/Wodonga region hosted the event at the Commercial Club, Wodonga Squash and Racquetball and The Albury Club. Legends Sarah Fitz-Gerald, five times World Open Squash Champion and seven times National Women’s Racquetball Champion, and Cameron White, fourteen times Australian Open Racquetball Men’s Champion, both unbeaten in the sport, were out to defend their titles at the Australian Open Racquetball Championships.
In the men’s main draw, Cameron White had a bye in the opening round of the tournament, and then proceeded to dominate his opponents to claim his spot in the final. White met Jason Mudge in the final of the event, after Mudge defeated Steve Andrewartha 2-1 in the previous round. In the final, it was White who defended his title once again and defeated Mudge 21-17, 21-8.
In the women’s main draw, Sarah Fitz-Gerald showed the crowds why she was favourite to win, as she danced through the draw winning 2-0 in both of her round matches. Fitz-Gerald met with Corinne Yallup-Cross in the final where she prevailed 21-9, 21-8.
Further results in the tournament:
A Grade Singles:
Winner, Alex Baines def. Runner-Up, Anthony Haln 21-14, 21-11.
B Grade Singles:
Winner, Charlie Fatouros def. Runner-Up, Adam Lander 22-21, 21-16.
C Grade Singles:
Winner, Daniel Chu def. Runner-Up, Blake Caspersz 21-19, 21-16.
D Grade Singles:
Winner, Stephen Daniel def. Runner-Up, Brandon Morgan 21-16, 21-11.
E Grade Singles:
Winner, Nicola Baines def. Runner-Up, Kevin Quick 21-13, 12-21, 21-11.
F Grade Singles:
Winner, Chloe Yallup-Cross def. Runner-Up, Joseph Rees 21-10, 20-22, 21-17.
Junior Boys:
Winner, Justin Chu def. Runner-Up, Zach Tamburini 21-5, 21-5.
Junior Girls:
Winner, Gabby Baines won: 2, lost: 0
Runner-Up, Ella Brown won: 1, lost: 1
Third Place, Ella Partington won: 0, lost: 2
Open Doubles:
Winner, Norman/Beard def. Runner-Up, French/Pederson 15-7, 15-9
A Doubles:
Winner, Andrew/Abishara def. Runner-Up, Cross/Yallup-Cross 15-7, 15-10
B Doubles:
Winner, Barclay/Nolan def. Runner-Up, Iverson/Sutcliffe 13-15, 15-13, 16-15
C Doubles:
Winner, Rowe/Smits def. Runner-Up, Hanckel/Bartlett 16-15, 15-12
D Doubles:
Winner, Driver/Daniel won: 3, lost: 0
Runner-Up, Hosie/Morgan won: 2, lost: 1
E Doubles:
Winner, Yallup-Cross x 2 def. Runner-Up, Du Plooy/Dunk 15-12, 15-11
The Australian Open Racquetball Championships make WIN NEWS