Review by the Chairman of the Rackets Committee

Rory Sutton, Chairman of the Rackets Committee

In my first report, I’d like to start by thanking James Coyne for the stewardship he has shown during his 15 years on the Rackets Committee and the last five as Chairman of Rackets. During this time, we have seen off court advancements in ranking and seeding systems, huge development of the ladies’ game, and record numbers of entries in many tournaments – testament to James’ leadership. On behalf of the membership, I’d like to say ‘thank you’.

We have tried our best to play as much Rackets as possible over the last year, but it hasn’t been easy. Most importantly, we have been able to continue playing in schools for the majority of the year. This is vital for the future of the game and I am delighted girls and boys at school have been able to play. I’d like to thank the RPA who have been working through various iterations of regulations and guidelines to allow as much play as possible. Unfortunately, we were not able to play any of the scheduled tournaments this year. I keep my fingers crossed that absence will make the heart grow fonder and we will see bumper entries to next year’s events.

One result of the pandemic was a closure of the World Doubles Championship qualifying period. Tom Billings and Richard Owen will face an eliminator match against Mike Bailey and Nick James. The winners of this match will challenge the current World Champions James Stout and Jonathan Larken. I’d like to thank Mark Farmiloe and the World Championship Committee for their efforts in managing the process in such uncertain times. I wish all those involved good luck for their upcoming matches, and hope we will have full galleries enjoying some high quality doubles. One area we have been looking at whilst courts have been closed, has been the doubles rankings. A new ranking system has been introduced to increase transparency to tournament seedings, providing each player with an individual doubles ranking. A pair’s seeding will then be determined based on the combination of the two individual players rankings, and their record playing together in previous tournaments. We have also supported the Amateur Status Committee with the re-writing of the amateur rules; now easier to understand and can better support our ‘elite’ players. Ed Hyde has been busy working with the North American clubs to understand when we can resume our scholarship programme and will be in touch with those involved when we are able to confirm plans for next season. Lewis Symonds has been driving interest in Under 21 and Under 24 Rackets, vital for the future of the game. He will also be liaising with NARA at the appropriate time to organise the next Knott Stephens tour to the US and Canada. Bill Stephens has decided to step down from his role as organiser. I’d like to thank him, and his wife Pauline for their tireless efforts over many years that have enabled young players to travel abroad to play Rackets and build life-long friendships.

Picking up the mantle for the Ladies game, India Deakin has taken over from Lea Van der Zwalmen and joined the Rackets Committee. Lea had huge success in moving the Ladies game forward, and I am sure with her passion and enthusiasm for the sport India will build upon this. In other committee changes, Alan Giddins and Nick Harding have stepped down having served their time on the committee – the game has benefited from their guidance over many years. A warm welcome to Nick Stamp and Simon Loup, who have been elected to replace them. I have also appointed Paddy Sutton as Director of Tournaments, and James Blackburn has joined as Clubs’ Representative. After serving for 24 years, Karl Cook stood down from the committee to pursue an opportunity abroad, being replaced by Charles ... fingers crossed that absence Oliphant-Callum. will make the heart grow fonder and we will see bumper entries to Mike Bailey has continued to push next year’s events. the ‘elite’ game forward. He ran the first of what I hope will be many schools’ exhibitions. We had four of the top players in the world battling it out in a round robin tournament at Wellington. The galleries were full, thanks to Ryan Tulley, and the spectators enjoyed some first class Rackets. We will be organising more of these events over the coming season, and I hope they will give T&RA members the opportunity to watch some quality Rackets at a court near you soon. I thank Brown Advisory for their unwavering support for our great game. Their continued commitment is most generous and hugely appreciated. Thank you. During the last year we have said goodbye to some dear friends. Our thoughts go out to the families of Simon Kverndal, Christopher Griffith-Jones, Mike Bolton, Sam Beale, Dave Mackenzie and Roger Crosby, all of whom loved Rackets and they are sorely missed.

I look forward to the reopening of clubs, and the return of Rackets in the 2021/22 season. We have a full schedule of matches and tournaments, including a Doubles World Championship and Ladies World Championship. In the race to challenge for the World Singles, Ben Cawston will look to build on his lead for the right to challenge current World Champion Tom Billings. As ever, we kick the season off with the ever-popular Noel Bruce, for which I encourage as many entries as possible.