Looking for golden rackets

Four of the strongest tennis teams have determined the best in the final stage of the national tournament

Three days of competitions, four teams and only one main prize — the Golden Racket national tennis team competition has finished in Minsk. From March to October, athletes from all regions of the country met on the courts to determine the strongest, and then the four best teams determined the winner in the finals of the tournament.  The Golden Racket competitions in our country were held only for the third time, but they were already enjoyed by young tennis players. Despite the fact that there are many events in the age group up to 12 years old — the athletes of this particular age category were fighting for the trophy — this tournament differs from the others, first of all, in the team format. Yulia Gotovko, of the national tennis team, decided to support children on the final day of the competition.
“In my time, there were no such team competitions, we performed only individually,” recalled the athlete. “However, looking at the guys, I caught myself thinking that at their age it would have been interesting for me to play in such competitions. These are completely different emotions. I believe that it is very important to hold such tournaments in our country: the children will have even more desire to go in for sports, and this will contribute to the development of tennis.”
The winner of the Golden Racket event was the team from the Minsk specialised children and youth sports school of the Olympic Reserve for tennis. The youngsters from this school won the competition for the second time in a row, and the school’s deputy director for the main activity Yekaterina Smuraga said that the players were selected for the squad based on the national rating, so really the best ones were included. Their rivals also fielded good athletes, making the battle on the courts stubborn. On the first day, the tennis players of the Minsk specialised children and youth sports school of the Olympic Reserve for tennis defeated the team of the Grodno children and youth sports school, on the second day they beat players from the Mogilev specialised children and youth sports school of the Olympic Reserve No. 1, who eventually took second place, and on the final day of the tournament they were stronger than the bronze-winning RCOP tennis squad.
“These competitions teach athletes to be united, to root for each other. The guys made a lot of effort to achieve success both psychologically and physically,” said Ms. Smuraga. “Anyway, only the best wins, and this time it’s our team. 

We also want to win the tournament next year. We will do everything to ensure that the challenge cup remains with us after the next Golden Racket event.”

When coming to training throughout the year, pupil of the Minsk specialised children and youth sports school of the Olympic Reserve for tennis, Yelizaveta Sharamet, was looking closely at the prize won by her team last season. She confesses that she dreamed of playing in the Golden Racket and proving by victory that Smena is the best. Having made her way to the team, in the final stage the girl won all her matches, and in the final fight she brought a victory point for her sports school.
“At first I was worried,” Liza said, not hiding her feelings. “Still, when you play for a team, you don’t want to let the other guys down. The rivals this year were strong, everyone showed their skills, but I’m glad that we are the winners!”
Liza believes that not only the final stage of the tournament turned out to be interesting, but also the qualifying round. Tennis players travelled to regional centres to see teams from other regions and, while performing in the competitions, had a great time meeting new friends and relaxing. They wanted to bring the Golden Racket tournament — organised by the President Sports Club, the Belarusian Tennis Federation, and the National Tennis Academy — to international level this season, but the invitation of foreign teams had to be postponed for now due to the coronavirus pandemic.
“Nevertheless, both we and the Belarusian Tennis Federation will continue to work in this direction,” says Pavel Vasiliev, chief specialist of the information and public relations sector of the President Sports Club. “The Golden Racket tournament has already become traditional, so we hope that next year we will be able to invite teams from other countries to it. Since 2019, co-operation between the President Sports Club and the Belarusian Tennis Federation has reached a qualitatively new level. In addition to holding a series of Golden Racket tournaments, we are implementing a large-scale and comprehensive programme of bilateral partnership, the main tasks of which are to improve the methodological base and to improve the qualifications of coaches and judges through seminars both in Minsk and in the regions.”

By Tatiana Pastushenko
Photos by BELTA