Warrnambool and surrounds to send junior tennis team to 2023 Pat Cash Cup

Coutts, 16, is one of 15 players to make up a south-west team for the two-day tournament, which runs in Horsham this weekend. The annual event brings together teams from all regions of Victoria, including metropolitan Melbourne.

The Brauer College student, who started playing tennis age six, has dedicated more time to the sport this year.

He said his confidence rose after defeating a number of ranked opponents at the Warrnambool Grasscourt Open in December and is now down at the courts six nights a week either training, playing or coaching.

"I started getting better and actually going well at tournaments rather than being one of the first round knock-outs," Coutts said. "I thought I should train more and I'm just starting improving heaps. It's kind of my whole life at the moment."

Coutts said he was looking forward to the tournament - which sees teams of 16 players contest the cup, with two boys and two girls per age group - and hoped to come away with some wins.

The left-handed Coutts, who likes to use his slice serve to hit opponents' backhand, said the team had been training hard in the lead up.

"I'm expecting it to be really good," he said. "I haven't played in Horsham before so that will be interesting. Our team's pretty strong especially in the 12 and 14s, so I reckon we might go all right."

South West region tennis manager Sharni McNamara was thrilled to enter a team in the cup for the first time in some years.

"This year we've got back and were able to get a side together," she said.

McNamara said there was a strong group of juniors coming through the ranks across the south-west.

"We've got some really good, young kids coming through," she said. "We've got a lot of kids in the under 12 and under 14 age groups, we had to have trials in those age groups."

12 and under boys: Monty Darcy, 12 (Warrnambool), Roy Savage, 12 (Warrnambool); 12 and under girls: Adele McNamara, 12 (Warrnambool), Lilly Crawford, 11 (Warrnambool); 14 and under boys: Hudson Greene, 13 (Warrnambool), Ben Spencer, 14 (Warrnambool); 14 and under girls: Elyssa Mutton, 13 (Warrnambool), Jasmine Phillips, 13 (Koroit); 16 and under boys: Isaac Brian, 15 (Koroit), Toby Coutts, 16 (Woodford); 16 and under girls: Olivia Uren, 15 (Warrnambool); 18 and under boys: Max Phillips, 15 (Koroit), Marcus McClintock, 17 (Portland); 18 and under girls: Grace Biggs, 16 (Warrnambool), Jasmine Dawson, 18 (Heywood).

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