COMPETITORS from all over the country flocked to Essex Park for the Gawler Silver AMT/JT – the first tournament in South Australia for official ranking points since the first COVID-19 shutdown in March.
92 players took the court over the four-day tournament, including players from Lyndoch and Gawler, with the SA talent headlined by 15-year-old Henry Lamchinniah.

Lamchinniah, from Adelaide, won the open-age AMT – or Australian Money Tournament – beating Australia’s 70th ranked player, 18-year-old Callum Gale, 6-4 6-4 in the final.
The top local performer was Dale Nixon, who was knocked out of the AMT singles semi-final by Lamchinniah, and made it to the final of the AMT doubles with partner Heath Johnston.
Young local Riley Gill also collected some silverware, taking the 14-and-under boys doubles events with Lucas Salmeron.
Tournament director Haydn Leo said it was terrific to see a number of familiar faces return for the annual event.
“We had about 15 players come over from Victoria, and one from New South Wales, and then we’ve got players like Henry Lamchinniah who have been playing this tournament for five or six years now,” he said.
“It’s a great group of people that we get to host at this event every year and this edition was no different.”
While only a limited number of Gawler and Barossa players competed, Leo commended the local tennis clubs for their support.
“I had a lot of great help from people like Rebecca Leo, Jodie Gibbins, Rob Polito and Jayne Polito, but the local tennis community provided a number of volunteers as well,” he said.
“These kind of tournaments aren’t possible, especially with all the COVID-19 protocols we’re following, without a team of dedicated, switched on volunteers.”