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Rackets Club Reports
Charterhouse Charterhouse
By Andy Johnson, Master-in-Charge
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Charterhouse Rackets Report – A Season of Firsts
It was with immense pleasure that we reopened the Rackets Courts at Charterhouse in September to, once again, start a season of competitive Rackets. Nothing beats the anticipation of the gallery as they await the first serve of the match, nor the hush, followed by an explosion of cheers, at the culmination of a high-tempo rally, and when you layer on top of that the pulse of the marker’s calling, you have the perfect sporting spectacle. As if this was not enough, it was also a season of firsts at Charterhouse with the inaugural fixture involving Yearling girls, against Wellington, and the first ever school match against Malvern, very kindly hosted by Marlborough. The first pair, in Charlie Bridges, Captain, and Toby Pascoe, certainly played their part with the competitive and highly entertaining style of Rackets they showcased on court. It also looked initially as if this would also be a highly successful season when they found themselves at match point up to secure a famous 3-0 victory away at Marlborough, having already triumphed, 3-0, over Haileybury in their first match. As we all know though, Rackets can turn in a trice, and who would have guessed that once that opportunity had slipped through their fingers that victory for the remainder of the season would prove so elusive, though Charlie Bridges thoroughly enjoyed reaching the third round of the Renny Cup at Christmas. The second and third pairs saw Harry Baker, Jonty Postlewhite, Harry Lavelle and Tom Kinmont donning the all-white kit, and to a man they relished every moment on court. Whilst victories in regular school fixtures proved hard to come by, they were celebrated with gusto when they did arrive after Christmas, Winchester for the second pair and Eton for the Third Pair. The highlight, though, of the second pair’s season, was progressing to the third round in the Second Pair Competition at Queen’s. In the Colts, Charlie Raeside and Rupert Quinton, worked hard at their respective games, but had the annoying habit of taking it in turns to play to their potential, and it wasn’t until we hosted Eton that they secured victory. Though it is worth mentioning that the match itself kept the spectators royally entertained and it was only after twelve hands in the set of the deciding game that they could punch the air in delight at the outcome. The Junior Colts were well served by Alex Loder, Charlie Bromley and Freddie Cowling, whose enthusiasm for the game was infectious and the inordinate amount of time spent at the courts will surely reap rewards next year. As mentioned previously we were delighted to be able to welcome our first intake of Yearling girls into the courts and they, along with a talented group of Yearling boys, have thoroughly enjoyed their first season of Rackets. The Yearlings A Pair, in Ollie Webster and Alex Magliana, have proved to be a force to be reckoned with, winning five of their six School Matches, whilst Summer Gratton has represented the School in both fixtures against Wellington. We look forward to these three, along with all the other boys and girls in their year, continuing to make swift progress in the coming years. Now it is time to take stock, lick our wounds, and plan for the next season. September 2022 can not come round fast enough!
Cheltenham College Cheltenham College
By Matt Coley, Master-in-Charge
This year saw the return of school matches to the calendar meaning Cheltenham College Rackets Club has enjoyed an incredibly busy season in all areas. This has included a healthy fixture list for both boys and girls, intra-college competitions, a very busy one court training programme with over one hundred players and the welcome return of the Gold Racquet for its 20th year. Although there was some movement in the boys first pair, Robbie S (L6) and Max K (5F) cemented their places and played at first pair for the Spring Term with some success, hopefully they can use this experience and continue to improve next season. Robbie had a successful Renny Cup run, eventually losing to a fine Etonian in the semi-final. The second pair consisted of Captain Anay S (U6) and Theo N (U6) who have been great servants to the Rackets Club and unfortunately had a tricky draw in the second pairs competition. On the girls side, Captain Alice V-R (U6) and Tilly W (U6) represented College at first pair magnificently and were deserving runners up in the Robbin Geffen U18 doubles. Alice also put in a superb performance of the Judy Angus U18 singles, losing 1-3 to a strong Wellington player. This year’s U6th of Alice, Tilly, Lily S, Lottie D and Annie C have been ever presents and have supported any and all tournaments, we hope they keep this up. Meanwhile in the Alex Brodie U16 doubles, a strong Cheltenham pair of Katie B and Mary L played superbly to become champions. Katie B also managed an impressive run in the U16 Beryl Danby Singles, eventually coming second to an excellent Malburian. Alongside the talented L6 of Lily N, Isy Y, Olivia V-R it looks like we will have some strong senior pairs. Behind the scenes the Cheltenham College Rackets Club strives to move in the right direction on and off the court, and our thanks go to Professional Mark Briers and Assistant Professional Rob Horn for providing the best pathway possible.
Clifton Clifton
By Reggie Williams
It has been an enjoyable season despite the results. The enthusiasm and energy from the whole squad has been terrific. 31 pupils went to Queen’s in March for the boys doubles and girls singles, all competing well. Jake Davies captained the side and was top draw in creating a good atmosphere. Jake and his partner, Joss Plummeridge, led from the front with their motivation, passion and had some good battles throughout the season. Jake, Joss and Luke leave this year having been good role models to the Rackets squad. I will miss their music on away trips and the amount they eat at Maccy D’s. The second pair of Will Windows and Marcus Allan, third pair Luke Sutor and Wilf Murphy and fourth pair of Joe Naughton and Simon Koupparis worked hard at their game and all put in good performances. The Colts pair, Archie Campbell and Toby Denner showed good promise, likewise the JCs A’s Zaman Shafi and Alfie Moloney. A good number of JC’s and Yearlings, both boys and girls, spent a lot of time on court working at their game. Sofia Trujillo, Millie Isaacs, Gwen Morris, Georgia Culley and Amelia Campbell all leave this year having played a big part in Clifton girls Rackets. Thanks very much to all of the Boasters. To the Monday Evening club which is great fun with a cheeky sherbert at the Port of Call afterwards. Thanks also goes to James Blackburn for all his hard work and passion for getting the Boasters and university boys in every night of the week playing silky Rackets. Also for his commitment and passion for the Clifton Cup which he runs. This year Ben Cawston won the singles beating Tom Bomford, and the doubles was won by Ben Cawston and Tim Armstrong beating Blackers and Tommy Shields. I would like to thank Valla Geddes for his last three years while he’s been in Bristol. His time keeping at times has been questioned, but his enthusiasm and support is very much appreciated from the Boasters and the Clifton Rackets.
Eton Eton
By Peter Brake
It is wonderful to be back playing school matches, and running unrestricted practice sessions, enabling boys of all ages to finally play together again. Throughout the season, matches against all other schools have been closely contested, and we have enjoyed some great games against the Old Etonians and the Jesters, which provided some timely practice ahead of the Queen’s Championships. Notably, Eton, once again, managed to have four competitors playing in the prestigious Foster Cup in December. Wilf Walker drew the third seed in round one and despite playing well went down in three close games. Patrick McCourt took on fellow Etonian, Bill Baring, in the first round. Always difficult when boys are drawn against each other, Patrick prevailed this match with a 3-0 victory. Patrick then suffered a close loss, going down in the final game of the quarter-final to the fourth seed. Henry Daly had a convincing win in the first round, and then proceeded to beat the second seed in the quarters, before losing in an incredibly tight semi-final to the eventual winner. Peter Compton-Burnett impressively won through five rounds of the Renny Cup to reach the final, but sadly lost in another remarkable match, going down 10-15 in the 5th game. With four very fine players, deciding who would make the Eton first pair was an especially difficult decision to make. In the end, Henry Daly and Patrick McCourt got the nod ahead of Bill Baring and Wilf Walker who played as the second pair. We had a good win over St Paul’s just prior to the draw for the National Schools Doubles, which made Eton the top seeds in a year that had four exceptional school first pairs. After coming back from the brink of defeat against Harrow in the quarters, Eton lost to Radley 2-3 in the semi-final. Our second pair (Baring & Walker) played admirably throughout the competition, consistently improving after every round, and deservedly won the cup for an amazing ninth consecutive year. On the home front, many congratulations to Wilf Walker who took the School Singles title, and further congratulations to Will and his partner, Peter ComptonBurnett, who were victorious in the School Doubles. We have been very fortunate to have Sam Northeast join us in his cricket off-season to help coach Rackets, as well as cricket and rugby two days a week. Sam has proved himself to be a great success and huge asset, and we all look forward to welcoming him back to the courts in October. As ever, my personal thanks to Richard Montgomerie for his support and enthusiastic work, on and off court, as Master-in-Charge. Thank you also to Patrick McCourt for being such a first-rate Keeper helping coach beginners, and marking matches during the many home matches.
Haileybury Haileybury
By Graeme Tyndall
Most notably, this season, we said goodbye to former professional and legend of the game, Peter Ellis, who died in June at the age of 89. He was given a wonderful send-off by many of the Rackets community and we look forward to celebrating his life more fully in the autumn with a memorial service at Haileybury. We send our love to Lilian, Richard, Jack and all Peter's family and friends. It was perhaps fitting that it was this season that one of our players, Flynn Jennings, was the first Haileyburian to win a top-flight national singles competition at Queen's since Richard Ellis more than 40 years ago. Flynn's was a remarkably dominant performance throughout the tournament, dropping only 27 points in his 7 rounds. Most encouragingly, the club continues to go from strength to strength, led by our wonderful group of Lower 6th, who have created an atmosphere that has welcomed all comers, including a host of year 8s, who are loving the game and the environment. We must also congratulate our alumnus, Tom Billings, who continues his domination of the world game, winning every major tournament, singles and doubles, and with Richard Owen, defeating Stout and Larkin convincingly to add the world doubles crown to his singles title.
Harrow Harrow
By John Eaton
In April we had the official opening of the Prenn Hue Williams court. This was an excellent occasion with a great turn out and a fitting tribute to the unstinting efforts of John Prenn and Charles Hue Williams in supporting Harrow's Rackets over many decades. It was great to return to playing at Queen's. Tarquin Sotir (Druries), who was selected for the Foster Cup had a fine match in the first round and managed to hold off a spirited display from Macpherson (Tonbridge) to win a tight match 3-1. The next match pitched him against Kirkland (Tonbridge), who had beaten the first seed the day before. A classic match unfolded with a raucous gallery, packed mostly with Tonbridge. Tarquin played some excellent Rackets and fought through to a tense final game. He established an 11-6 lead before falling behind 13-12. Tarquin drew level at 13-13 but was just edged out 15/13 to lose 2-3 in games. Tarquin had shown determination, skill and character. He has another year to go and will be a contender to challenge for this prestigious title in December. Sam Owston (Moretons) and Veer Patel (Knoll) were our other senior representatives in the Renny Cup. Both boys underlined the improvements they had made in winning two matches apiece before losing in their 3rd rounds. At Colts level we had two representatives. Jonny Codrington (Rendalls) was spirited but lost his match. Gus Stanhope (Moretons) won a match before losing to a seeded player. Gus is striking the ball more cleanly to compliment his quick footwork. In the U15 event we had five removes playing and six shell boys. Though none of them progressed to the later stages, all played with passion and determination. Tom Campbell-Johnson (Druries) produced the strongest display by taking a game off a seeded player. Algy Royle, Harry Owens and Miles Herron (all Rendalls) along with Henry Porter (Moretons) should all be proud of their efforts as remove boys. Six Yearlings gained valuable experience with Peter Ballingal (Moretons) winning a round and Jack Nelson, Harry Lister (Both Bradbys), Filip Wiszniewski (Druries), Charlie Chambers (Rendalls) and Ben Hufford-Hall (Moretons) all showing plenty of potential for the future. The National Schools Doubles took place at the end of March and we travelled with a strength in depth, especially at senior level. In the First Pair Doubles, Max Shirvell (HM’S) and Tarquin Sotir (Druries) took on Wellington in the first round and were convincing in a 3-0 win. The next match was against the first seeds, Eton. In a match full of twists and turns we overhauled a one game deficit to lead 2-1 and got 8-0 up in the fourth game. Eton turned the tide at this point and we were just unable to close out the match. Tarquin built on his fine display in the singles. He was the best player on court for long periods of the match and his fluent attacking play will live long in the memory to those who were there. Max served superbly, thriving in a high-pressure environment. Given the limited number of games they played together in the year this was an outstanding achievement. We had three pairs in the Second pair Doubles event. Federico Ghersi (HM’s) and Alonso Fontana (Grove) played well to beat pairs from Marlborough and Tonbridge and advance to the quarter final where they were eased out 1-3 by a Tonbridge pair. Federico has added more power to good footwork and Alonso volleyed well and showed a tenacious spirit. Sam Owston (Moretons) and Henry Oelelhafen (Lyons) also won two matches before playing the second seeds Eton. Both boys should be proud of their strong performance in a 1-3 loss where the result was in the balance for the majority of the match. Veer Patel (Knoll) and Stephan Baranov (Moretons) became our third pair to reach the quarter-finals after two wins, the second of which was a gutsy effort against a strong Eton pair. In a nail-biting final game, they lost out to the First seeds Tonbridge. Veer built on his singles display to show great leadership and skill. Stephan made great strides to play at such a high level in one year of play. At Colts level we had two pairs. Gus Stanhope (Moretons) and Charlie Hope (Rendalls) gave a seeded pair from Radley a tight encounter before losing 1-3. Both boys should be commended for the significant improvements they have made over the season. Mostyn Fulford (Knoll) and Charlie Nelson (Bradbys) performed very well but were edged out 1-3. Mostyn enjoyed the big stage and played his best ever match. Charlie has had an excellent year taking up the game at the start of the year. At Junior Colts level we had three pairs entered. Tom Campbell-Johnson (Druries) and Henry Porter (Moretons) played well to create a chance to win but were narrowly lost their opening encounter. Algy Royle (Rendalls) and
Jack Nelson (Bradbys) showed real potential to get through a round before giving the eventual winners a competitive contest in the next round. Ben HuffordHall (Moretons) and Charlie Chambers (Rendalls) were outgunned by stronger, older opponents but have both done well in their first year. It was very heartening to see the efforts that all the boys made in preparation for the events held at Queen’s Club. They are very ably backed by Dan Escott as Masterin-Charge, Joey Snell as the new Assistant Rackets Professional and Graham Furber for his ongoing help and support. Four of our eight senior boys who played at Queen’s will return next year and with promising younger players we look forward to next season.
Malvern Malvern
By Noel Brett
During the season Malvern were competitive and this all we can ask of the players. We managed to have some excellent wins mixed in with some disappointing losses, but that is the nature of sport and lessons were learned along the way. With five players in their final year it was very enjoyable to be a part of this team. At the singles in December, Olly Cox (captain) was our sole entrant in a strong Foster cup. He played very well and represented the school excellently showing heart, determination and technical ability giving his all to the matches he played in, but unfortunately he lost to the eventual winner. I want to take this opportunity to thank Olly for all his efforts on and off the courts over the five years and he has become a true Rackets badger! The other outstanding achievement went to Flynn Gunston who reached the final of the Jim Dear, but lost to a very good Haileyburian, but I am sure there will be many more tight matches between them in the future. It was great to be at the doubles again in March and we took a strong team down to Queen’s. The first pair fought hard, but came up short and the Under 14’s played well in their first outing. The highlight was the outstanding performance of the Under 15’s Flynn Gunston and Sam Clements to reach the final. Although it was not meant to be it was a fantastic effort by the boys and very good experience. A mention should also go to the Under 15 girls Bella Kennedy and Daisy Tuthill, who played in their first ever singles matches at Queens. Daisy managed to win the first round in very impressive style against an experienced player from Clifton and whilst Bella lost, she served incredibly well and the match was very close. In November it was also great to host another Ladies Open Doubles event, which was again a huge success. Thank you to all the support from the schools and T&RA for helping to make it the fun tournament that it is. I would also like to thank OM’s Mark Hubbard and Tom Bomford for their court time with all the players it makes a huge difference and is much appreciated
Marlborough Marlborough
By Rob Wakely
The season was eagerly awaited, being the first time fixtures were possible since before covid. A lot of catching up was required due to inexperience and lack of match practice. Donald Corbett & Monty PretorPinney became the established first pair. However, when fulfilling other sporting commitments, their places were filled by Jake Burnell, Max Woodford, and Sam MartinJenkins. During the season good progress was made, although this was not always reflected by results. There were fine performances, including a memorable victory against Malvern (an extraordinary match lasting almost 90 minutes where two match points were saved), other wins against Clifton, Harrow and Charterhouse and a narrow loss against Eton. The second pair rotated regularly throughout the season with Sam Martin-Jenkins, Jake Burnell, Harry CampbellWalter, Max Woodford and Sebastian Hebblethwaite all stepping up with considerable vigour. Charlie Kirkwood and Max Wyman struggled with inexperience initially, but improved significantly as the season went on. The Junior Colts showed the most promise with exciting performances from Theo Morgan, Zack Cooke-Priest, Arthur Munn and George Zawoda. Sophia Mordaunt played in Junior Colts Boys matches on several occasions. This was to great effect as she surprised her male opponents with her power and phenomenal serving. December at Queen’s produced memorable performances from Sam Martin-Jenkins who fought impressively to the quarter-final of the Renny Cup playing sparkling Rackets, narrowly losing to a talented Cheltonian. Not to be outdone, Donald Corbett reached the 4th round having won a marathon after 10pm the previous night against a tenacious competitor from Harrow. Charlie Kirkwood lost a fierce battle in the Incledon-Webber 3rd round to a hard hitting Tonbridgian. In the Girls Doubles, Grace Hornby & Tinka Barber put up a good showing against the No. 1 seeds from Wellington in the semi-final. Experience was the telling factor, but this bodes well for next year. The Boys Doubles at Easter produced very satisfying performances from Donald Corbett & Monty PretorPinney who lost a competitive match against eventual finalists Radley. Charlie Kirkwood & Max Wyman went down 2-3 to a talented Colts second pair from Winchester. In the Girls Singles, Georgie Cresswell fought bravely losing to the No.1 seed in the quarter-final of the Senior Girls tournament, and Grace Hornby also lost to the same opponent in the semi-final. Having recovered from a serious eye injury in November, Sophia Mordaunt swept through the Junior Girls tournament without conceding a game with devastating serving and ruthless ground strokes. Still a year younger than her opponents, her performance was widely acclaimed by all who witnessed it, spectators and professionals alike.
Marlborough College Rackets Club 2022
Sophia, Junior Girls Championship Cup, Marlborough College.
Radley Radley
By James Rock
The squad continued to build on their success and results from previous years. The new U14 players shined on the main stage at Queen’s, with Nathan Baggett reaching the quarter-finals and his partner Benedict Wateridge progressing to the 3rd round. Inevitably, healthy competition is driving up standards and whilst they are still learning about how to read the game, especially when it comes to doubles, their eagerness to get on court and improve is an invaluable commodity. Our U15 pair of Hugo Donald and Theo Henman fought hard at Queen’s in the National Schools Doubles, but sadly went out to a solid Eton pair. However, next year as Colts, they will be well placed for a strong run. The U16’s continue to go from success to success and the first pair of Rory Acheson-Gray and Hugo Acheson-Gray, have come on leaps and bounds again this term. Following good wins on the school circuit during the term, they went into both the singles and doubles at Queens, full of confidence. They performed admirably and played well to get to the semifinals in the doubles, eventually losing to a strong Tonbridge pairing. Rory did exceptionally well to reach the semi-final of the singles. Losing to the Winchester top seed was tough, but Rory really took his play to new heights. Rory and Hugo were ably backed up by Ambrose Garson and Morgan Barnes. Both Ambrose and Morgan have huge potential and we look forward to them continuing their progress in the sixth form. At Senior level, Magnus Garson, George Acheson-Gray and Jonty Duncan, have had a tremendous year at first pair. George suffered a terrible facial injury playing hockey in January and Jonty proved an excellent replacement during a tough period of fixtures. Jonty had reached the Renny semi-final earlier in the year and he put that experience to good use in the school fixtures. George thankfully recovered in time for the National Doubles and sporting the infamous “ski mask” went into battle despite clearly not being 100%. Reaching the final was a tremendous effort. Beating the Eton 1st seeds 3-2 in an epic semi-final was testament to how far Magnus and George have come not only as Rackets players but as people.
We must give a special mention to captain Magnus. For the last three years he has worked incredibly hard at his Rackets. The fact he has been able to balance Rackets, Real Tennis, squash, music, Oxbridge and a number of other commitments has been remarkable. A superb captain of the club, he has led from the front throughout and winning the Foster Cup was a phenomenal achievement. The first Foster win for 40 years was massive for Radley, and we are extremely grateful to Magnus and his efforts. The Summer term offers some respite, with no school fixtures. However, with the developing wider love for the game in the school and the insatiable appetite for improvement of many of the boys, the court will not be quiet for long!
Rugby Rugby
By Will Nicholl & Howard Angus
After a few quiet years, it has been great to see more boys and girls grace the Rugby Rackets courts. Whilst the search for a professional goes on, significant progress has been made behind the scenes, not least in Howard Angus' visit to assess the condition of the courts, plans to host an exhibition match and the development of an enthusiastic three-man staff team to support a professional when an appointment is made. To that end, we are excited to add the experience and zeal of Paul Gillam to our number in September. Meanwhile, a small but committed group of U16s have enjoyed regular court time and every Year 9 student has been introduced to the sport as part of their enrichment programme. The Advent term fixture against Clifton afforded some their first taste of competitive action, while making an appearance at Queen's in December, however brief, represented a step in the right direction. With the support of the schools' Rackets community, we hope to be in a position to run a fuller programme of fixtures next year. The combination, inopportunely timed, of pandemicenforced restrictions and Phil Rosser's retirement has disrupted the growth of Rackets at the school, but we are excited to be beginning the process of recruiting a new Rackets professional and to seeing the game thrive here once again.
In 1937 Old Rugbeian David Milford won the World Rackets Championship. In the 85 years since, the World Champion has been an Old Rugbeian for 34 of those years, 40 %! (David Milford 1937-46, Geoffrey Atkins 195472, Willie Surtees 1972 and 1975-81.) No other School in the 20th Century had 3 World Singles Champions, so Rugby has an outstanding Rackets history. But in the 21st Century Rugby School Rackets the production of School Champions or winners of National Amateur or Open Tournaments has been in decline.
This year Rugby School asked the T&RA for assistance in assessing what refurbishments would be needed to restore the two courts to tip-top condition. At the same time, on-going efforts are continuing to be made to find an enthusiastic new professional, following the retirement of Phil Rosser. On behalf of the T&RA I have already had two meetings with the Director of Racket Sports, Chris Folker, and one with the Director of Sport, Debbie Skene, to discuss court repairs, and the hope to have an enthusiastic new professional and two fully refurbished courts for the start of the new academic year in September. It would be grand to see Rugby once again amongst the top Racketplaying schools in boys’ and girls’ school matches and all National Schools Championships.
St Paul’s St Paul’s
By Steve Tulley
Hatfield and Livesey make Rackets History
To begin, I have to comment firstly about how wonderful it has been this academic year that, at last, we’ve returned to some semblance of normality regarding day to day play, weekly fixtures, and National Schools events, not to mention the fantastic club gatherings at the court during morning break that is so vital to the success of our Rackets - boys once again swarmed into the building looking for extra court time and/ or the comfiest couch!
The seniors had a spectacular season both individually, and through-out their doubles play, which ultimately culminated in the most outstanding, history making, National Schools First Pair Doubles Championship victory by Olly Hatfield & George Livesey. To win this most prestigious of National Schoolboy Rackets events for the first time in St Paul’s relatively short history, and in such great style, dropping just one game throughout the entire event, is not only great testament to the talent and dedication Olly & George have shown during their 5 years playing Rackets at St Paul’s, but also to the other seniors who have contributed in helping Olly & George reach their potential including, Rana Sarin, James Rossiter, Tom Jensen, Vikram Bhamre, Arjun Rajkumar. In fact, Rana & Tom had a great run themselves in the Second Pairs event as 3rd seeds, comfortably reaching the semis where they unfortunately lost 0-3 to second seeds, Eton.
It must be added that while Olly & George won the First Pairs event at Easter, it was fitting that Charles Hue Williams was part of the presentation party as it was he, that was hugely instrumental in having the court built in 1999/2000 along-side the donor, Old Pauline, John Clay (1947-1952) in the memory of E.P.C. Cotter (1928-1965). The National Singles event in December was also a success for St Paul’s seniors in that four boys, Olly, George, Rana, & James, represented the school in the Foster Cup. James, as 4th seed, reached the semi-final, where he tore apart his Tonbridgian opponent in the first two games, 15/4, 15/3, and served for the match at 14-13 in the third game, however, unfortunately, to lose the momentum at that point can have catastrophic results, which was sadly the case here as James lost that game 14/15, and the next two games 8/15 9/15 and therefore, after a great battle, lost 2-3.
The U16s Are a talented group of boys, however, with the conflict of juggling other sports, practices are unfortunately limited for some. For the most part, Nabil Alizadeh and Darshy Pandey played as the A pair with reasonable success through-out the season, though when it came to the National Doubles at Easter, Darshy was
unavailable so Lorenzo Massi stepped in with Nabil and performed well only to be beaten by 4th seeds Wellington in the quarter-final.
The U15s: Having been somewhat thwarted by the restrictions of covid, the U15-year group found it hard to get going simply because, as U14s the previous year, they had had such little practice that their level was greatly compromised, however, fortunately, this was mostly the case with other schools therefore, although the overall level was down, it was entirely relevant to the entire year group on the circuit. Rory Todd and Alex Hogben were our main pair although, U14 Adrian Siniscalco, had to step in to play The U14s : Are an outstanding group of boys both on and off the court, and these boys are very likely to have been one of the strongest U14 form groups in terms of enthusiasm, commitment, dedication, St Paul’s has been fortunate to have had, and they are showing signs of potential great success in future National Schools events. Adrian Siniscalco led the way in terms of natural talent where he played many successful fixtures as an U15, and during the National Schools U15 Championships as 4th seed, reached his semi-final place comfortably, however, this match proved one level higher for Adrian as he came out second best losing 0-2 to Haileybury’s top seed and eventual winner, and one of the most exciting prospects for a generation, Flynn Jennings. As U14s, we were unbeaten playing several fixtures against schools on the circuit. At the Nationals Schools U15 Doubles Championships we entered two strong U14 pairs (A. Siniscalco/S. Poddar) and (A. Sankaye/G. Ashton) who excelled in everyway reaching the quarter-finals after defeating the likes of Harrow, Malvern, Marlborough, Radley, and only losing to both the 1st & 2nd seeds respectfully.
The David Tate Cup (Internal School Singles) The Senior David Tate Cup was won by Rackets Captain & National Schools Doubles winner, Olly Hatfield, who defeated his partner, Rackets Secretary, and National Schools Double winner George Livesey 2-0. The Junior (U-16) David Tate Cup was won by Nabil Alizadeh (6th) who defeated Adrian Siniscalco (4th) in the final 2-0.
National Schools First Pair Doubles Champions, Olly & George, St Paul’s with Rory and what a great job he did, Adrian is a talented Squash player therefore transferring those skills on to a Rackets Court can sometimes be quite easy, and he did just that. In his first U15 match with Rory, against National Champions, Tonbridge, in November they won 3-1, and away against at Cheltenham won 2-0. But it was during the National Schools doubles at Queen’s Club, where Rory & Alex proved themselves as after having a magnificent run to the semis, defeating 3rd seeds, Wellington, in the 2nd round, and only losing to 2nd seeds, Malvern, in the semi-final.
SPGS Helen Genieser makes Rackets history For the very first time in St Paul’s Rackets playing history, SPGS pupil, Helen Genieser (U8th) took part in the National Schools Rackets Senior Girls Singles, at the Queen’s Club last December. Hazel, a very competent squash player, and younger sister of Old Etonian, and 1st class Rackets player, George Genieser, first started playing casually at Queen’s with George Livesey & James Rossiter, who then brought Helen to SPS for further training just two months before the Singles event at Queen’s Club. Talented & technically sound, Hazel, had to be fast tracked into serving & taking serve, as her experience on the squash court enabled her to rally & construct points very well. However, unfortunately, her Cliftonian opponent knew her way around the court better thus having the edge, and although Hazel won the first game, her opponent was vastly more experienced and knew how to change-up her serve effectively which, in the end, made the difference and sealed her 2-1 victory. Finally, it’s that sad time of year to say goodbye to several top guys who have served the Rackets Club spectacularly in every way possible. Oliver Hatfield, George Livesey, Rana Sarin, and Thomas Jensen, have not only been hugely successful on the court through-out their five years at SPS, but their contributions and characters off the court
were outstanding, with impeccable manners & good grace, that set the standards for all the boys coming through. It’ll be a great loss to the Rackets club, and the school in general, however, I’m sure they’ll take these skills & attributes wherever they go.
Finally, I’d like to say thank you to Dr Beesley for all his support & guidance in times of great need, hopefully we can have as successful 2022/23. And to all the parents who are so understanding of their sons late returns from fixtures as far away as Tonbridge & Cheltenham, not to mention their wonderful support during the National Championships at Queen’s Club.
Tonbridge Tonbridge
By David Makey
In the Foster Cup a tricky 1st round match was served up when non seeded Finn Kirkland was drawn against the top seed - the big, strong, mighty Ollie Hatfield of St Pauls. The gallery at Queen’s was heaving. Tonbridge supporters, in full voice, cheered Finn to an amazing victory by three games to two, 15/12 in the decider, in as close and exciting a match as you could possibly ever see, or so we all thought! Finn then played another 5-gamer, beating the impressive Harrow No.1, Tarquin Sotir, in his quarter-final. Finn won the first two games, lost the next two, then won the fifth and final game 15/13 to set up an eagerly awaited semi-final against what many aficionados regarded as potentially the likely Foster Cup winner, 4th seeded James Rossiter (St Paul’s). In my 42 years of watching thousands of matches at Queen’s, and many have been epic, this one was the most exciting, unbelievable, and amazing I have ever witnessed. James Rossiter has a huge forehand serve and thumps winners from everywhere. Finn was hammered off court in the first game, losing it 2/15, and the second was similar, 1/15. Two games to love down and obliterated is the only word one could use to describe it. The huge number of Tonbridge supporters, mainly current schoolboys but also parents, staff, and several OTs, had almost been silenced, and were in awe of Rossiter’s demolition job! However, in the early stages of the third game, Rossiter hit a monster shot into the top of the board! Error free until this time he then hammered another huge missile into the board a few points later. Finn started serving aces, hitting winners, and it was game on. The match had suddenly changed. Rallies were now ferocious, with incredible retrieving from our man, before despatching any loose balls with venom. The match ebbed and flowed one way and then the other until the score reached 14-13 and match point in Rossiter’s favour. Finn returned the serve and won the ensuing rally. Back in the service box, Finn thumped a couple of wonderful serves to win the game. Queen’s was now rocking, Tonbridge fans in roaring voice. Still requiring the next two games, much work was still necessary, but Finn gradually wore down the impressive Rossiter, winning the fourth game 15/8. In the final game Finn reached 14-7 and match point, then served a beauty and the roof nearly blew off! It was incredible! Our fans were jumping, shouting, unable to believe what they had just witnessed. The St Paul’s supporters who were in the front row in the gallery were dumbstruck and in shock. The score was 2/15 1/15 15/14 15/8 15/7. Finn had to stay mentally tough in preparation for the next day and the Foster Cup Final against Radley’s No.1, and Foster third seed, Magnus Garson. This was sadly too much. The emotional rollercoaster of not only winning all of his matches by 3 games to 2, and in particular the amazing semi victory, had taken their toll and Finn could not find his rhythm or anything else much, hard though he fought. Garson had been the outstanding junior, with superb athleticism and technical ability in this age group, but always lost in finals. Now two years later he was much stronger in his head, all signs of previous brittleness under pressure had disappeared. Garson won the Final by three games to love. 15/1 15/5 15/10, and deservedly so. Finn could not have lost to a more popular player. What a week of extraordinary Rackets and drama that will long live in the memories of all who were lucky enough to have witnessed that astonishing semi-final victory by Finn Kirkland, in what was the comeback of all time. In the doubles at Easter the first and second pair reached the semi-finals and three of our other pairs, the third pair, U16 and U15, all reached the final of their respective events. This meant that Tonbridge had reached five of the Boys Finals in the eight tournaments at singles and doubles and had won the Mark Faber Cup, presented to the top allround school in the country at the end of every season. We were delighted to have won this prestigious cup, and our whole squad, team players and non-team all played their part in pulling off this remarkable feat. A truly magnificent effort by the boys in the Tonbridge School Rackets Club.
Wellington Wellington
By Charles Oliphant-Callum
Though Wellington’s boys did not achieve quite the same success as teams of recent seasons, the girls possibly had their best year yet in 2021/22. Beyond doubt was the level of enjoyment experienced by all in the very welcome first full season of play for two years. The star of the season was Cesca Sweet: in March she finished her school career by winning the Judy Angus Cup, having won the Robin Geffen Cup in December with her partner Lilly May Redshaw. In addition to these successes she reached the finals of three senior events: British Open singles, British Open doubles, and, most impressively of all, the World Singles, getting through the toughest matches
of her career to challenge Lea Van der Zwalmen in the final. The women’s game in schools and beyond is wellestablished, and Cesca looks to be an exciting prospect for the forthcoming seasons. Other notable performances include the Colts Pair of Sam Strauss & Fergus Thomson reaching the semi-final of the U16 Boys Doubles, Lila Hue Williams and Liv Holroyd reached the U16 Girls Final, losing 1-3 to Cheltenham, and Seb Edwards who reached the semi-final of the boys U15 singles. In addition to the regular fixtures and two weeks at the end of each term at Queen’s, Wellington College Rackets Club enjoyed two extra events in this latest season. In January we hosted the Professional Singles over an extremely enjoyable weekend which saw Ben Cawston beat Ben Bomford in a high-quality final. One week later saw the inaugural OW Rackets Weekend. Every decade from the 1970s to the 2020s was represented, and in a thrilling final Adam Dewes and Lewis Symonds beat Nick Hopcroft and Noel Brett 18-17 in the third for a 2-1 win to delight the packed gallery. Analysis of the final point lasted well into the evening!
Photos: Top Left: Robin Geffen Cup winners. Middle Left: U16 Girls Doubles finalists, lila & Liv
Above: Lewis Symonds & Adam Dewes with the OW Doubles Cup
Left: Wellington v Cheltenham, October 2021, Queen’s Club
The Queen’s Club The Queen’s Club
By Ben Bomford
It’s been fantastic to see Queen’s back up to full strength post pandemic. Queen’s hosted the Mens Doubles World Champs and Ladies Singles. Lea Van Der Zwalmen beat Cesca Sweet in the Ladies Singles World Championships. Tom Billings and Richard Owen brought home the World Championship Doubles Title beating James Stout and Jonathan Larken.
The Ladies section has gone from strength to strength with regular Sunday sessions which are open to non members. We have seen tennis, Real Tennis and squash players convert to Rackets which has been very positive. We had seven ladies in the Spring Handicap weekend and many Queen’s members representing in the various national competitions, as reported by the T&RA. Queen’s also hosted a mixed doubles tournament around the Ladies World Championships which was well supported. There is no doubt this will continue to grow. Finals day was well supported across all four sports although, as ever, the Rackets Gallery was the most vocal. In the mens singles, Mike Bailey beat Rory Giddins. Richard Owen & Will Morse beat James Coyne & Alastair Gourlay. Ladies Singles saw Tara Lumley beat Georgie Willis. Jamie Burnett had a great season winning the Handicap Singles beating Simon Robert-Tissot. Jamie paired up with Julius Manton-Jones who overcame Simon Robert-Tissot and Charlie Horrell to win the handicap doubles. Monday night legends James Marshall and Henry Knox took home the highly coveted Parker Vase.
We have introduced an U28(ish) club night on Wed/Thurs in addition to a mixed doubles club night. The Ladies sessions on Sundays are open to non members and beginners are more than welcome. Please contact Ben Bomford on ben.bomford@queensclub.co.uk or 0207 386 3405 for more details.
All the ladies are regulars at the Sunday Ladies sessions. (Left to right - Georgie Willis, Cesca Sweet, Tara Lumley, India Deakin, Izzy Candy, Izzy Hunt)
Winchester Winchester
By Ollie Gibbon (captain)
Happily, things appeared back to normal after an eighteen month absence of matches. Archie Sillars (A) and I - Ollie Gibbon (I) - had the privilege of forming the Prince's Pair and we managed to win most school matches during the season, including a tightly fought contest against Harrow at home. In the reverse fixture on their impressive, newly refurbished court, we only just failed to come away with the victory after taking the match to the set in the final game.
During the season, other pairs enjoyed some successes including the Junior Colts pair in which Jack Bristowe (A) teamed up with differing partners and with Rupert Balmain (K), managed a convincing win against Eton.
However, our most exciting pair were our Senior Colts in which Bertie Vallat (F) and Henry Nicholls (A) enjoyed a faultless season, winning every school match decisively, both home and away.
In December, during the National Schools Singles at Queen’s, Winchester managed to win two of the four cups. Bertie Vallat sailed through the Incledon-Webber (Under 16) tournament without the loss of a single game, an
It was with great excitement that we gathered at the Winchester courts on 13th September 2021 for the first time since covid had brought Rackets in the UK to a grinding halt almost exactly 18 months previously. Our racquets were dusty and our Rackets was rusty but it was great to be back and I would like to thank Tim Cawston and the College authorities for making our return to the court possible. To commemorate this small step back to normality, in early December Nick Hubbard very kindly hosted a pre-Christmas dinner in his barn for around 25 current and former Wykeham Monday players. Thank you Nick for a super evening, greatly enjoyed by all present.
The Winchester tournament took place in March and once again we were delighted to welcome not only players from around the UK - including Marlborough, St Paul's, Clifton and Wellington - but also from the USA! Despite ongoing travel restrictions Manny Tancer yet again made the trip from Detroit to grace us with his presence and it was fitting that after a group stage and three rounds of knock-out, Manny and his partner Adam Kula-Przezwanski emerged as the winners, beating Peter Atkinson and Valla Scott-Geddes in the final. I am grateful to everyone for helping to keep a challenging schedule to time, for marking without being asked and for making the tournament dinner such a pleasure. Colin Astridge and Tim Cawston deserve special thanks for the hard work behind the scenes without which the day simply would not happen.
We look forward to next season.
impressive achievement. In addition, Archie Sillars battled his way through his field of 72 competitors and came away with the Renny Cup (one of the two senior trophies). Both Henry Nicholls and Jack Bristowe had also done well reaching the quarter-finals in their respective events. In the Doubles at Queen’s at Easter, Archie and I fought hard but lost to an accomplished Eton pair although we both felt we had presented our best. The Eric Angus trophy (under 16) was unsurprisingly brought home by Bertie and Henry who, as a pair, never really looked like any other result were possible. They should prove a powerful force in the seasons ahead.
The courts saw a lot of activity this season with all years coming to the courts in high numbers. Our new intake shows promise and, with more court time, should develop into exciting prospects.
With covid restrictions being eased over 2022, Winchester has also been able to go back to hosting evening sessions for local Rackets players outside the College, allowing many to continue playing Rackets beyond school. Some boys have also been getting involved with these sessions, enjoying the new competition and humour that is brought to the court.
Wykeham Monday Club Wykeham Monday Club
By Neale Turner
