Kit (Ken) Anola triumphed in a tight men’s Tennis Yukon championship final held in sweltering conditions Sunday at the Mount McIntyre tennis courts in Whitehorse. 

Anola defeated Luke Pacholski in what Anola called an “exhausting” match 6-4, 7-6. That included a 7-1 tiebreaker in the final set with the set tied 6-6. 

“It (was) a pretty tight match,” said Anola. “He played so good.” 

Anola said he had to devise a game plan to beat Pacholski. 

“I made him run. Just strategy.” 

Anola said he was happy about his victory. He figured it was the second time he had won the event. 

Anola had been playing since 2019. 

Pacholski thought it was a good match. 

“I thought I could make a comeback in the second set. I was up a break, trying to serve it out, and Kit just stayed a lot more consistent than me, and I think the sun and the heat just got to me. 

“Plus it was hard to play, especially serving into the sun. So a lot of challenges, but it’s just part of Yukon tennis. You’ve just got to deal with the wind, the sun, the heat. So I just didn’t do it today.” 

Anola also said it was hard to play in the 28º C heat. Regarding his strategy, he said placement of shots was key. 

“He is too tall. He reached everything that I did, my passing shots, so, it was hard.” 

Pacholski added he would like to encourage people to sign up with the club. 

“The courts here are really nice and the people are really friendly, so if anyone was thinking about playing tennis, they should definitely come out.” 

Tennis Yukon Board Director Stacy Lewis said it was a really well-played match. 

“I thought that was excellent. It doesn’t get much closer.” 

“Those guys are two of the best players out there, so it was really fun to see them and actually get a proper match in.” 

Lewis said there have been weather woes in the past during the men’s championships. 

Lewis said they may end up playing well into September if the weather holds up. 

“We’ll keep the nets up until Oct. 1 if we can,” related Lewis. 

As for this season, Lewis said they had more players than ever.

“That’s really exciting for us. It makes a big difference for us when we can get a coach (Kirby Mendes) who offers lots of programming, which we did this year.” 

Lewis said they hit the 200-player mark in season passes this year. 

In other Tennis Yukon news, young phenom Conner De Jong, 10, has been having some success down south in B.C., recently winning three matches in Maple Ridge. 

“He’s having a great season,” said Lewis. “Tennis B.C.’s excited about him, and that’s great.”