The Capital Cup returned to Whitehorse last week for just the second time since the series restarted in 2008.

A core group of 14 players stayed the whole week in Juneau, while five more players competed on the weekend, March 21-23, bringing the cup back to the Yukon capital for the first time since 2009.

The Tennis Yukon group narrowly edged out their rivals 609 to 593 after playing 1,200 games (eight-game pro-sets) recently.

Ten of the 14 Whitehorse players were juniors (ages eight-18), five of whom will represent the Yukon at the 2011 Western Canada Summer Games in Kamloops, B.C., in August.

"We're definitely making progress, even with our circumstances,” Tennis Yukon president Stacey Lewis said.

"Especially our junior players are working really hard, they're on the gym court twice a week and fitness outside of that as well. It's encouraging that we're getting some progress, and this kind of tournament and these kinds of results show that.”

There have been six Capital Cups since the tournament was reinstated four years ago.

The Capital Cup Challenge was started in the early '90s as a friendly capital-city challenge between Alaska and the Yukon.

Tennis Yukon reinvigorated the tournament in July 2008.

The two tennis cities have met twice each year since, in Juneau on the indoor courts in the winter and in Whitehorse on the outdoor courts in the summer.

Juneau has won four of the past six cups.

The number of Yukoners competing in the event has grown since the early days of 4-5 players.

This year marked the largest group Whitehorse has sent to Juneau to compete for the Cup, Lewis pointed out.

Usually eight to nine players travel for the competition.

Drawing nearly 20 players this time around is quite a leap, she noted.

"I think the fact that the program has grown has fed their progress. As with everybody in the north, the problem is lack of competition, and when you have a lack of competition, it's hard to get better.”

She also noted the play of juniors Alex Roberts and Trygg Jensen as standing out.

Lewis, Roberts and Jensen were joined by Tennis Yukon coach Jan Polivka, instructor Mike Russo, and players Keith Halliday, Anne Copeland, Ken Liao, Ryan Lane, Khang Pham, Kieran Halliday, Louis Kedziora, Roan Evans-Ehricht, Aline Halliday, Pascale Halliday, Prism Sasworsky, Ewan Halliday, Andrew Roberts and Jaxson Fitzsimmons.

Lewis called the victory a "significant achievement” for tennis in Whitehorse.

Tennis Yukon now boasts 100 members, 50 of whom participate in weekly programming, despite limitations on the sport, which is confined to the Yukon College gym, drop-in tennis and City and Recreation programming at the Canada Games Centre in winter.

"You're looking for some way to get people's attention, because you know you have a good program, that if you can get their attention they're going to have fun with it, or they're going to enjoy it and participate in it – but it's hard to get their attention with just lessons, a school program. People respond to wins. They respond to trophies,” Lewis said.

The summer edition of the Capital Cup Challenge will be held at the Mount McIntrye courts in Whitehorse in July (dates TBA).

Meanwhile, Tennis Yukon's junior players will compete in a USTA-sanctioned tournament in Anchorage on April 8-10.