Fifteen-year-old Kieran Halliday knows experience breeds confidence.

The Whitehorse resident was one of seven Tennis Yukon players who traveled to Juneau over the weekend for the annual Back to School Doubles Tournament.

Halliday and doubles partner Ryan Lane won the junior advanced doubles, while Alex Roberts and Aline Halliday won the junior beginner doubles and Anne Copland and Juneau partner Maggie Smith won women's doubles.

This marked Tennis Yukon's third year competing in the event, which acts as a fund-raiser for the Juneau-Douglas High School tennis team in Juneau.

Previously, Halliday and Lane were the more inexperienced doubles team.

But with many of Juneau's experienced players graduating last year, the shoe was on the other foot this time around.

"It used to be really intense but now a lot of the guys have graduated high school and have gone to university,” Halliday said.

The Whitehorse team fell 5-4 in the first set of the junior advanced doubles final but clawed their way back to win the opening set 6-4.

Halliday and Lane found themselves in a similar position in the second set, down this time 3-2, but rallied back to win the set 6-3, taking the match in two sets.

Halliday said the comeback was due to experience.

Lane agreed.

"Now we know how to talk to each other comfortably,” Lane said.

The team Lane and Halliday faced in the finals beat them in the opening draw 9-7 in a pro set.

"So we had kind of a grudge,” Lane added.

Both Lane and Halliday competed in the 2009 Canada Summer Games, held in Charlottetown, P.E.I.

Beyond that, the doubles partners and the rest of the Tennis Yukon players gain experience whenever and wherever they can, which is why the club travels to Juneau four times each year to compete.

Although limited – comparatively, Juneau tennis players compete year-round – that experience paid dividends in Lane's and Halliday's performance.

Tennis Yukon president Stacy Lewis figured this was the club's best showing in the September doubles tournament.

"We're desperate for competition experience, and that's the closest place we can go, really, even though it's a two hour drive and a plane ride or ferry ride to get there,” she said.

Lane and Halliday took to the court as the more experienced players at the tournament, for a change, she added.

That experience has improved maturity, mental toughness and tactics.

"Things like coming from behind, facing a tie-breaker, facing match point, these guys have some experience now and you could see that,” Lewis said.

"Two years ago, if these guys had gotten frustrated, they would have really fallen apart on the court.

"And now, this tournament, it didn't happen. What is it, is it that they're stronger players? Well, yeah. But they also have more match experience.”

Playing four times each year in Juneau, however, and hosting the scattered tournament won't cut it completely, she noted.

"They still need more match experience, but they are getting to a point where they know they can pull out of it, they know it doesn't have to be a crash and burn, they can regroup and settle down and get things going in their direction again.”