Perth Tennis Club has been crowned champions of Tayside following a season of craft and consistency.
A hard-fought 10-2 win against fellow title challengers Montrose last Thursday night secured the crown.
Team captain Craig Cameron hailed the commitment of players who have given up their time over the past few months.
Playing their part in the success alongside Craig have been Ryan Martin, David Reid, Rory Flood, Alexander English, David Oliphant, Ewan McConachie, Euan Burns and Cameron Hay.
“It has been a really consistent season with a lot of close matches,” said Craig, who is the club’s head coach.
“The league has been a tight battle with more draws than ever. There was not one match we turned up to thinking we were favourites. You had to fight for every single match.
“It was a good, strong and competitive season from all of the teams in the league.
“Our strength this season was that we were able to keep a lot of our players playing a lot of the matches. Three or four of the guys managed to play every single match, while others committed as much as possible.
“Getting everyone out and a team together every week is not easy at times.
“But as a club – I don’t like mentioning it as a first and second team – we have real depth now.
“And quite a few of the team are guys that I used to teach in the past, which is also nice.”
Perth finished the season on 15 points and soon images of previous league triumphs were doing the rounds.
Craig was also part of the club’s Midlands League triumph - way back in 1998!
“I’ve had one year out since 1998,” he said. “On a doubles court, I’m still feeling good.
“But a singles court has never been my strongest point! I’m personally playing as good as I can.
“I have played for many years not winning the league and still always enjoy it. Winning does make it a little bit better though.
“This is just a real bonus for the club and a big plus to round off the season.
“Our second team have been promoted to the second top division in Tayside too, so they are also getting good tennis.”
While Perth Tennis Club will enjoy league-winning celebrations, Craig is keen to build on the success.
“Next year we will have more younger ones coming through and pushing for places in the team,” he said.
“The plan will obviously be to retain the trophy but we know it will certainly be a battle.”
In the immediate future, Craig is welcoming a large crowd of kids down to the Hay Street courts for his popular summer tennis camps. They started earlier this week and continue through July.
