Junior Real Tennis

2021/22

By Paul Weaver JUNIOR TENNIS

WIN!

British Junior Championships 2021

A fantastic weekend at Queen’s last summer, showcasing the very best of Junior Tennis. Left to Right: U14 Champion, Max U16 Champion, Bertie U18 British Junior Champion, Max T

The Junior Championships were held once more at The Queen’s Club in August 2021. For a full report and results see page 28. This tournament signified the return of ‘business as usual’ in the Junior Real Tennis world.

Inter Schools Doubles Level Championship - Senior, U16 & U13 2022

The Under 18’s was at Queens, Under 16’s at Radley and the Under 13’s was held at The Oratory - so it was a busy weekend of Tennis.

Adam Player with Seb, Max & Cesca British U18 Handicap Singles 2021

There was an excellent entry of 21 juniors for this year’s Handicap Singles event held at the Wellington court in December 2021. The “B” competition gave many of the players their first taste of tournament play with Seb Edwards defeating Lila Hue Williams in the final. In the main competition, the highlight of the group stages was 10-year-old Max Warner’s comeback from 2-7 down to win 8/7 in a match he had to win to qualify. Max eventually won through to the final to play last year’s winner Cesca Sweet. The final produced yet another comeback from young Max who came back from 3-6 down to win the match and the tournament 8/6. Thanks go out to the Wellington club and to the Dedanists’ Foundation for their continued support and sponsorship.

Peter Luck-Hille Cup 2021/22 Season

The team from The Oratory, left & Seacourt team, right

The PLH Cup is an inter-club junior competition that encourages junior players to get involved in club matches for the first time and meet juniors from other clubs. It is sponsored by The Dedanists’ Foundation and is aimed at the average junior player rather than elite players. This season a record 12 clubs entered teams. The final was played on the 12th June 2022. Teams from Oratory and Seacourt reached the final with Seacourt taking the trophy with a 4-2 victory.

As well as these traditional junior events, the Schools Tennis Programme continues to flourish under the guidance of Mike Dean. There are now a large number of schools involved in the Inter-Schools Championships.

T&RA British U15/U19 Doubles Championships

The U15 British Doubles Championships were held at Wellington on Saturday 20th November. Five excellent pairs fought it out in a round-robin group with many close and exciting matches. The top two pairings going through to play in the final were Algie Nottingham & Laszlo Garson and Francesco Saviotti & Alfie Watson. Algie & Laszlo won a great final 8/3.

On the following day, Holyport was delighted to host the U19 event. Holyport had previously been the traditional home of this event and it was great to see it back again after a few years away. A high-quality tournament ended in a final with Seacourt pair James Medlow & Max Trueman playing Bertie Vallat (Queens) & Magnus Garson (Oxford). The Seacourt boys came out on top after a thrilling final.

Our thanks go out to the T&RA and to Josh Smith, the new Head Professional at Holyport, for running such a wellorganised event and marking throughout.