GB to serve up more than 50 tennis players at Maccabiah

TEAM MACCABI GB will be sending more than 50 tennis players to compete at this summer’s Maccabiah.

Stephen Joseph, the chair of Maccabi GB’s four tennis squads – U16, U18, Open and Masters, is expecting his players to face a tough challenge in Israel.

Describing what he thinks they’ll come up against in July, he explains: “The aim of all the squads is to be competitive and have a good time. The standard is very high and it will be tough to win medals but we have chances in one or two age groups.”

Happy with the four squads assembled, he says: “The most difficult selection was with the Junior boys where we had numerous applicants. I believe we have some excellent Junior and Open players and what I would call enthusiastic Masters.”

Adam Pacifico will be managing the Masters as well as taking part in that competition, Alon Hannuna will manage the Open players while also competing in the Open tournament. Katy Spalter is co-managing the Juniors, with Ezekiel Kelly the assistant manager.

Meeting up on a regular basis for practice sessions, most of the players have their own coaches who they’re training with. This will hopefully ensure they’ll be in tip-top condition come the start of the tournament.

Looking forward towards the whole Maccabiah experience — both on and off the court, Joseph adds: “It means everything to be out in Israel representing Team GB.

“Our new players can’t wait for the experience and the oldies look forward to it each time. To be among almost 10,000 Jewish athletes is incredible.”