The 2025 Tennis Victoria League Championships took place on April 12 and 13, welcoming 82 teams and over 400 players from 21 associations across the state.
Held across four premium Melbourne venues – being Royal South Yarra Lawn Tennis Club, Beaumaris Lawn Tennis Club, MCC Glen Iris Valley Tennis Club and Monash Tennis Centre – teams that were premiers in their domestic competitions, played for a shot at becoming State Champions in their section.
The Mountain District Ladies Tennis Association Section 1 teams, the Kyneton Kestrels and Woodend, qualified for Section 2 in the League’s Women’s Division.
Opposing teams in Section 2 were Geelong, Sorrento, Red Hill, East Malvern, Yarraville and Mentone.
Kyneton and Woodend are friendly foes and it was a terrific result that the two teams eventually met in the grand final.
The Woodend team was represented in the grand final by Tori Young, Bianca Gordon, Sophie Allen and Louise Mooney after losing the experience of Leighan Owen and Kate Greenwood to injury in the preliminary matches.
The Kyneton team was represented by Susie Baldwin (captain), Kerrie Shea (vice-captain), Sally Sims, Nicole Price, Nicole Murphy and Michelle Ackland.
A Kyneton and Woodend grand final was expected to be hard fought and evenly matched and it did not disappoint.
In the first set, the Woodend number one and two pair Tori and Bianca were exceptional, defeating Kerrie and Susie 8-2.
While battling through injury, Michelle Ackland was courageous in putting up her hand to play in the first set of the grand final.
She and Nicole Murphy were superb, defeating the Woodend number three and four pair Sophie and Louise 8-1.
With Kyneton leading by a mere one game, the final two sets were going to be a sensation.
Both sets were played simultaneously, and at one stage, the score was four games all on both courts.
Nicole Price was substituted in for Kyneton for the number one vs three set and continued her outstanding form of late, pairing with number one Kerrie, to finish with a brilliant 8-4 win against the competitive game of Tori and Sophie. This put Kyneton in an excellent position for the final deciding set.
Susie and Nicole Murphy were up for a tough match against the consistent game play of Bianca Gordon and the solid defensive game of Louise Mooney. However, always pairing well and with Nicole playing her widely renowned defensive game, the pair achieved the minimum four games required for the ultimate win to Kyneton, being narrowly defeated 8-7.
The final score was Kyneton two sets 25 games defeating Woodend two sets 21 games for Kyneton to be crowned one of the 12 premiership teams in the championships.
Kyneton and Woodend are to be congratulated on their achievements. This close result is a testament to the high standard and depth of women’s tennis in the MDLTA and in the Macedon Ranges in general.
Players are extremely thankful to the volunteers of the MDLTA committee, who work diligently to provide a professional competition that we participate in proudly.
The Kyneton and District Tennis Club and the Woodend Tennis Club are inclusive and welcoming, where there are opportunities for all ages from beginners, those wanting to pick up the racquet again, to more experienced players.
Enquiries to the clubs and the association are welcomed.
Kyneton TC
info@kynetontennis.com.au
Woodend TC
info@woodendtennis.com.au
MDLTA
MDLTASecretary@gmail.com
