Some five years ago, or so, Sudbury Indoor Tennis Club (SITC) members and hitting partners Alana Holmes and Daniel Wong mused about the somewhat "siloed" nature of the structure of play at the SITC.

For as much as many adult players were taking lessons and improving their games, the tendency was often to remain stationed in a particular league, facing the very same opponents, week after week.

Drawing from the general concept of the Laver Cup created by Roger Federer, the SITC Winter Cup was born. While the first weekend of tournament play took place in late November, it was only a few weeks away when the 2025 event came to a close, all in the wonderful mix of fun and competition that grows larger with every passing year.

Led by team captain Nicole Ament, the "Green" clad champions pulled ahead on the final day of play, a definite cause for celebration for the squad that also featured Jean-Francois Robitaille, Phil Howard, Meghan Forestell, Kris Venkatraman, Jeremy Ramshaw, Leo Stul, Bryan Todd, Kiran Arunachala and Abbas Dedanwala.

Though she has now moved from Sudbury, Alana Holmes returned to captain Team Blue to the Spirit Award, not a great shock when one considers the key motivators that would prompt her to tackle the drive north in the middle of winter, just to squeeze a little more tennis into her busy schedule.

"The team aspect (of the event) is a huge draw," said Holmes. "Cheering on your teammates, plotting strategies and watching people bring their best game to the court is a fantastic way to get to know people and strengthen relationships."

It's not limited to just the two tournament weekends either.

The announcement of team captains and ensuing "player draft night" held in October is now a much anticipated lead-in to actual play on the courts.

"We have increased the number of players in the tournament," noted Holmes. "The number of club members involved in the running of the tournament is larger. We have repeat sponsors whose generosity continues to elevate the tournament experience for the players."

"The tournament is going to get bigger and bigger."

Only fitting.

It was, after all, the lure of competition that drew Alana Holmes to first pick up a racquet.

"I was looking for something to get me out of the house and off the couch during the winter months," she recalled. "Not knowing anyone that played tennis, I talked my husband into it - with the agreement that the loser of our matches would buy lunch."

"Tennis quickly became my favourite form of recreation, exercise and de-stressing."