Racket sports enthusiasts had an appointment on Friday and Saturday at the Fautaua sports complex for the second edition of Racketlon Tahiti. As in 2017 during the first edition, the Racketlon Tahiti offered athletes the opportunity to compete in four racket sports: table tennis, badminton, tennis and beach tennis, the latter discipline replacing squash. Each meeting in each discipline was played in 21 winning points, the objective being to accumulate the maximum number of points on the four sports. “The idea of Racketlon is to be as versatile as possible and not to rely solely on your favorite sport to widen a gap”said Olivier Mothe, Secretary General of the Tahitian Tennis Federation and co-organizer of the event.
We found some great people and great confrontations in Fautaua during the two days of competition. In the men’s draw, which brought together around forty participants, defending champion, badminton player and Saipan Mini-Games medalist, Léo Cucuel, was there. In front of him, we found among others the multiple gold medalist in table tennis at the Pacific Games, Alizé Belrose, and his little brother Océan. The Polynesian squash champion, Cédric Hateau, also responded, as did local tennis references such as Reynald Taaroa and Heve Kelley, who was returning to competition after a few years of absence. On the women’s side, two groups of four players have been formed, notably with the presence of the double Polynesian tennis champion, Vaiani Dusserre-Valleaux.
Winning comeback for Heve Kelley
And we will remember from this edition of Racketlon Tahiti that it was dominated by tennis players. In the semi-finals, men and women alike, there were four specialists in the little yellow ball. This last four was the occasion to witness a confrontation between Heve Kelley and Reynald Taaroa. If Taaroa dominated his opponent in badminton and beach tennis, he could not face his opponent in table tennis and tennis. On the courts of Fautaua, Heve Kelley, crowned Polynesian champion between 2015 and 2018, dominated Reynald Taaroa in the wide widths.
In the final, Heve Kelley found Léo Cucuel, who had his side in the semi-finals of a particularly combative Océan Belrose, a remake of the last edition of Rackelton in 2017. At the time, the badminton player had taken the best on the tennis player. But this year, Kelley turned the tide. The latter won in three of the four disciplines, leaving only badminton victory to Cucuel. A winning return therefore for Heve Kelley who will be found at the Interclubs of tennis. And for the men, the podium was completed by Reynald Taaroa who took advantage of Océan Belrose’s package in the match for third place.
On the women’s side, Racketlon also crowned a tennis player, with the victory of Vaiani Dusserre-Valleaux. The native of Raiatea dominated table tennis player Uratahi Patere in the final. The women’s podium was completed by Tahiariki Lee.
