Maccabi Tennis Club Update

Season Overview

This year the club fielded 18 teams – 9 junior, 6 men’s Pennant, and 3 doubles teams. Two junior sides, the Section 2 Boys and Section 8 Boys, reached their Grand Finals in June, with the Section 8 team (Adam Morawetz, Eitan Navon, Liam Nahoom, Louis Super, Mason and Hardy James-Wurzel) winning their division.

The Grade 5 Pennant team (Asaf Nagar, Assaf Drori, Joel Fredman, Jordan Jaffe, Jonny Henquin, Marty Schwarz, Daniel Sneider and Gilad Nagar) also made it to the Tennis Victoria Winter Pennant Grand Final in August, ending a competitive season on a high note.

L to R: Grade 5 team members Asaf Nagar, Gilad Nagar, Marty Schwarz, Jordan Jaffe, Jonny Henquin and Assaf Drori. Not pictured: Daniel Sneider, Steven Kleytman.

Community and Inclusion

The club continues to prioritise participation and access. In February, Maccabi Tennis ran All Abilities sessions with support from Maccabi Victoria, giving players of all skill levels the chance to take part. More sessions are planned for early 2026.

In June, the club hosted its first Pride Round, joining five Victorian clubs taking part in Tennis Victoria’s Pride in Pennant campaign. The event promoted inclusion and diversity within community tennis and was well supported by players and families.

April saw the return of the Maccabi Cup (tennis edition) at Caulfield Park, involving five Jewish schools – Beth Rivkah, Mount Scopus, King David, Bialik and Leibler Yavneh. Bialik won the overall Cup, and the day was a positive example of collaboration between schools and Maccabi sport.

Tennis Victoria’s Pride in Pennant Round

Bialik College with the MacVic Tennis Cup

Championships

The Victorian Jewish Tennis Championships (Seniors) were held earlier this year, with Joel Fredman winning the Men’s Singles, Liorah Levin taking the Women’s Singles, and Geoff Rosenberger and Alan Liebowitz winning the Men’s Doubles.
The Junior Championships will be held in December to close the 2025 calendar.

Women’s Singles champion Liorah Levin

Men’s doubles winners Geoff Rosenberger and Alan Liebowitz

Men’s Singles champion Joel Fredman

Planning for the Future

Maccabi Tennis has applied for a new lease from Glen Eira Council, as the current lease ends in October 2025. Renewal will allow the club to move ahead with upgrades, including new lights on Courts 5–8 and resurfacing to improve playing conditions and increase night-time capacity.

The club is also focusing on growing participation among women and girls and aims to field new Sunday Pennant teams next year.

100 Years of History

As the oldest continuously operating sporting club in Maccabi Australia, Maccabi Tennis continues to protect and celebrate its history. In August 2025, Phillip Benjamin donated the original Minute Book of the Judaean Tennis Club (the organisation that later became Maccabi Tennis Club) to the Jewish Museum of Australia (JMA).

Phillip is the son of Rose Benjamin (née Carrick), the first Secretary of the Judaean Tennis Club. The donation ensures this important record of Jewish sporting history will be preserved. The club hopes the JMA will display the Minute Book in the near future. 📖 Read more: play.tennis.com.au/maccabitennisclub/100Years/MinuteBook

Phillip Benjamin reading the the original Minute Book

BRTA Summer Pennant

As the year draws to a close, attention has turned to the BRTA Summer Pennant, where Maccabi teams have made a solid start. The season reached Round 3 on Saturday 18 October 2025, played in windy conditions across Melbourne.

Three of six Maccabi teams came away with wins – a strong showing midway through the season.

Section 3: Maccabi 6-8-56 def Overport Park 0-0-16
Assaf Drori 8-0
Asaf Nagar 8-2
Jordan Jaffe 8-2
Jonny Henquin 8-5
Assaf Drori / Asaf Nagar 6-0 6-2
Jordan Jaffe / Jonny Henquin 6-3 6-2

With four courts available, all players began their singles at the same time. Assaf, Asaf and Jordan dominated early, dropping just four games between them. Jonny recovered from 1-5 down to win seven straight games and close out his match 8-5. The doubles followed with similar control, both pairs finishing strong for a clean 6-0 team result.

Other results from Round 3:

• Section 5: Maccabi 3-3-38 defeated by Hurlingham Park 3-5-47
• Section 6: Kooyong 6-8-64 def Maccabi 0-2-44
• Section 7: Tennis World 4-5-45 def Maccabi 2-3-30
• Section 8: Maccabi 5-7-59 def Dendy Park 1-2-29
• Section 9: Maccabi 3-4-43 def Highmoor Uniting 3-4-39

There were strong efforts across the board – including a steady win from Errol Dorfan in Section 7, a dominant doubles victory from Daniel Brami and Aden Minaker in Section 8, and a decisive singles performance by Sebastian Raboy in Section 9 that sealed the tie for Maccabi. The club heads into the next round in good form and with confidence building across all sections.