Real Tennis Club Reports

Bristol Bristol

By Clive Archer, Chairman

Cambridge Cambridge

By Vix Harvey, President

2021/22 has been an important year in the history and development of Bristol Real Tennis Club. At the post-pandemic Welcome Back party in September, Tony Hill unveiled the Presidents’ Honours Board, and it was fitting for his name and that of Peter (PJ) Probyn to be the first and last names on display. PJ made a great effort to attend the evening despite a serious illness, but sadly passed away later in the year.

In terms of revitalising the club, we were fortunate to experience the expertise and enthusiasm of Chris Ronaldson, as Consultant Professional, and Maggie Henderson-Tew, on secondment from the Radley Club from 1st October 2021 until 31st March 2022. Within a few weeks of their arrival, there was a very friendly, welcoming atmosphere in the club, particularly on match days and during tournaments.

Kevin King decided to retire at the end of January, after a great career as a Real Tennis Professional, including over 20 years as our Head Professional, where he has made many friends!

The BRTC teams have performed well this season in matches against other clubs, particularly in the T&RA Brodie Cup matches, eventually losing narrowly to Oxford Tennis Club in the semi-final. Perhaps we shall do even better next year!

Following an advertisement sent out to all Real Tennis clubs in the world, interviews in January and subsequent approval from the Committee, Ben Taylor-Matthews has been appointed as our ‘Head Professional’, to work alongside Ben Coleman as our ‘Club Manager/ Professional’. Ben T-M began in Bristol on 1st April and there has been a smooth transition from Chris and Maggie’s very successful time at the club.

We are fortunate to have attracted and recruited Ben Taylor-Matthews to Bristol and wish him the very best of luck in his future playing and coaching career. We look forward to BRTC going from strength to strength, maintaining its “new normal” high levels of court usage and a continued drive to increase the size of the membership and diversity.

Our Secretary, Phil Moss stepped down in April, as did our Treasurer, Chris Willows earlier this year. Both have contributed a great deal to the wellbeing of the club and I am very pleased to be able to thank them on behalf of our members. I am also most grateful to our incoming Treasurer, Nick Geere and Secretary, John Dixon for volunteering for a stint as Executive Officers of the Committee, and to our recently appointed President, John Newman. Despite a turbulent world and some very sad times, the club is in a good place and the future looks very promising. Cambridge has had a great year with return to play becoming more of 'a thing'. The students have enjoyed a busy year with our women securing a long overdue victory over Oxford in a spectacularly high-level draw. The men came up against their old rivals both in Varsity and the Inter Unis, securing victory in neither, but a lot of good Tennis for the spectators. We welcomed back our recent alumni alongside long-time supporters of the students for the Giraffe Club Cup (moving to November next year). Tennis, champagne and dinner were followed by extravagant bar hopping until the wee hours where we all numbed the memories of being beaten up by students in both divisions. Our thanks as always to the wider community of Cambridge alumni who steadfastly support our students to play as much as they can.

The juniors have also had an exciting year, winning some of the long overdue category tournaments from 2020, 21 and 22 in a variety of handicap bands as well as a rogue win in the graduate cup! Felicity and Bella participated in several of the LRTA tournaments and training sessions; Alex and Bella headed to the U19 doubles where they had a lot of fun but not many victories; however, the practice obviously paid off as they came back to secure an excellent win in the Club mixed doubles event. We are super excited to see some of the local schools bringing groups in their games lessons on a regular basis now and thank the Dedanists for all the support they have offered with this initiative.

The seniors have been on superb form, with full draws for the longest running ever Tayabali and White singles league (postponed so many times during lockdowns). Post league dinners are back on for divisions 2-5 in the now-completed, new clubroom and the season culminated with a delicious BBQ hosted on a fine summer's evening in the Ludekens' garden with our very own Head Professioanl cooking up a storm in true Aussie style. Our fixtures list against other

Clubs has been full thanks to our incredibly hard-working fixtures secretary and great fun was had by all the members signing up to play both here and away. We have been working hard to recruit new members, with free taster sessions regularly available and have enjoyed seeing some new and fast improving faces around the club. A particularly strong contingent is emerging from the old University rugby blues! At the elite level, we were thrilled to see all Cambridge alumni in the Amateur Champions singles and (half of the) doubles finals, the Silver Racquet final and the Gold Racquet final. Many congratulations to Ed Kay, Jamie Douglas and Jamie Giddins who continue to play at the very top of the amateur game. We all thoroughly enjoy the exhibition matches these stellar players come back and offer at our events.

Many in the Real Tennis community will remember Fiona Brown. Fiona sadly passed away on September 26th in the Arthur Rank Hospice. Fiona was a very long-standing member of CURTC, as a player, a supporter, a generous sponsor, and as a member of the committee. For many years she was a wonderfully efficient and hard-working club secretary, tolerant and wise, during crucial phases of the club’s development. She was much loved, admired and appreciated. Camice Revier and Tony Kennedy’s Real Tennis arch on their exit from Grantchester Church

Our thanks as always to our fantastic professional team: Kees, Peter, Adam and our fab IiP apprentice Jim, whose handicap is getting dangerously close to his age....and to Ben Geytenbeek for giving so freely of his time and being willing to share his technology and expertise in the new world of Real Tennis streaming. Pol Roger have again been wonderfully supportive of our events and we remain steadfastly appreciative of their delicious portfolio of champagne, wine and whisky!

As a final note, many congratulations were offered to Tony Kenedy and Camice Revier who tied the knot in wonderful Real Tennis style in the beautiful setting of Granchester this summer. The two of them are avid players of the game, and regular members of our weekend fixtures team.

Left: Alex and Bella beat Igor and Ariane in the Divison 1 final of the Cambridge Mixed Doubles. Right: The exhibition match for the Giraffe Club Cup with Jamie Douglas, Jamie Giddins, Ed Kay and Patrick Smart.

Canford Canford

By David Dickson, Chairman

REAL TENNIS

In last year’s report I broke the sad news of Steve Ronaldson’s retirement as Professional at Canford after a mere 39 years! Steve’s departure was marked by a huge gathering of members past and present – over 100 were in attendance, spilling over onto the court from the Dedans – which involved much revelry, drinking and stories of games gone by. There was much laughter and not a few tears. Steve and Barbara are now happily settled in the Scottish borders and at the last count Steve had joined at least three golf clubs! Steve’s last Assistant, James Ryan, has taken over the reins and his enthusiasm and energy in the role have already paid dividends. After five arduous months alone in charge, dividing his time between school and club commitments, James was joined in January by a new young assistant, Vaughan Hamilton. Vaughan has grown up playing Tennis at Moreton Morrell and has proved a great addition to club and school, throwing himself energetically into all aspects of the job from day one. At only 22 years of age and already with a handicap of 17, he will definitely be one to watch over the coming years. James and Vaughan are both actively involved in the Investing in Professionals programme. Post-covid, there was clearly a wariness associated with returning to the game and at one point the club’s membership had dropped to 75. However, thanks in large measure to a membership drive led by James and Vaughan, we are now in a much healthier position with over 130 members.

CANFORD

We put together our first Brodie Cup team for a number of years, superbly captained by Oliver Hunter – and the whole team are excited to go again next year. There are plans to enter at least two National League teams and a Field Trophy team for next season.

There have been a number of club competitions taking place simultaneously which has kept the court very busy. One of these is a new competition named “The Two Ronnies” in honour of Steve Ronaldson, with 52 players entered. It involves a degree of both skill and luck with no one knowing exactly what is going on – just the way Steve would have liked it!

In March we welcomed a Premier League Match – Team Taylor-Mathews vs Team Sayers. It was a fantastic evening with the Dedans packed with pupils, members and many faces new to the game who were treated to an exhibition of incredible Tennis. The eventual winners were Ben TaylorMathews and Robert Shenkman beating Bryn Sayers and Neil MacKenzie 2-1. The world Championship Challenge has been a long time in the waiting, but the 140 Canford balls are still ready to go for the big match in September between Camden Riviere and Rob Fahey.

The Club’s junior programme has bounced back well post-covid with four shiny new racquets and up to 20 youngsters on the squash and Real Tennis courts regularly over the last 12 months and our thanks go to the Dedanists for all their support. We also had four of our young players (Tom, Vincent, Toby and Gabriel) involved for the first time in the PLH Junior Real Tennis Competition – fantastic experience for all of them.

School development opportunities continue to grow with pupils at the School National Singles and Doubles Championships. Gabriel Davey and Tom Chissell went to the U15s British Junior Open, with David Offer and Tom Clark being invited to the World Junior Championships at Seacourt in August. We had tense home and away fixtures against the Hyde and introduced a successful mixed pupils and members match against the Dedanists. Next year we are excited to have an Old Canfordians vs. Pupils match and are keen to invigorate our OC links over the coming years.

The Tennis Court hallways, changing room and office have been rejuvenated having been newly painted and decorated throughout. All in all the club finds itself in fine fettle and as always will provide a great welcome for any visiting players.

Falkland Palace Falkland Palace

By Ewan Lee, Secretary

We are very happy to report that since the lifting of covid measures the most northern of the Real Tennis clubs has been enjoying a vibrant return to normal business. We have welcomed playing guests from Lords, Queen’s, Melbourne, New York and Washington, all of whom enjoyed their time on court. Team visits from Jesmond Dene, Prested Hall and Moreton Morrell have been planned for the future, so if you wish to pay us a visit for a few sets and a decent meal over a long summer’s weekend, do get in touch!

Ball production at Falklands Palace

Hardwick Hardwick

By Tim Tomalin, Chariman

It was with great sadness that we learned in March that Adrian Snow had died. Adrian was a founder member of The Friends of Hardwick Tennis Court, serving first as treasurer and subsequently for many years, as chairman. He loved the game and the court at Hardwick. As a keen handyman he took a very much hands on approach to the development of the changing rooms and the kitchen in the dedans, which play such a large part in the social life of the club. Adrian was keen that Real Tennis be revived through the promotion of the game in schools, and that new courts should be built. It was through his enthusiasm and support that the court at the Oratory, the first new court for eighty years, was developed. He will be fondly remembered at Hardwick and as a great asset to the Real Tennis community.

For the rest, life at Hardwick continues gently as ever. Isolated as it is, life on the estate and at the court seemed barely touched by the pandemic and activity at the court has recovered quickly from the imposed restrictions. In spite of the urgent desire of many to rush to the airport and seaside as travel became easier, our level leagues in the autumn were successfully completed, as were our winter tournaments, there was even a result from a long postponed, but not forgotten, doubles final from the 2019/20 season. We were pleased to be able to return our Lady Rose weekend and AGM to its traditional date in the spring. This was in fact “Another General Meeting” as, in order to keep everyone informed and our constitution properly followed over the hiatus, we had held catch up meetings over the internet.

Though victory in the Brodie Cup and our regular Bickley Derbies against Newmarket and Moreton Morrell continue to elude us, our small corps of regular players are determined that eventually we will prevail! Meanwhile Hardwick continues to be a popular venue for roving teams, and is regularly visited by the curious from far afield. We are grateful for the support of many who are unable to visit the court frequently.

Hatfield House Hatfield House

By Steve Brewerton, Chairman

After an unusual couple of years, we are pleased to see our court back in full action with increased court usage and a growing membership. Fortunately, we were able to return to a full schedule of internal competitions, National League matches and club matches. This season we hosted both the Category D competition and the Billy Ross Skinner invitational mixed doubles. The Cat D winners were Ed Buxton (30-35) and Chris Lintott (35-40). Our Billy Ross Skinner winners were Paul Bollerman and Minty Oldham who were victorious over Chris Lintott and Izzy Hunt. Both tournaments were a huge success and many thanks to Sarah Sullivan and her team of helpers, who made the BRS such an enjoyable tournament. These tournaments and all other activity at the club would not be possible without the consistently excellent performance from our two professionals Jon Dawes and James Law.

We have been able to complete further refurbishment projects this past year, as part of on-going mission to keep HHTC looking and playing in first class condition. Our latest projects included the full refit of the ladies changing rooms, an overhaul of the electric system and the implementation of a state of the art streaming service for matches and coaching.

Top class court conditions at Hatfield House In May we completed our internal competitions and we now have Nick Baker as our club champion, beating Mark Rayner in the final. Our club doubles champions, Martin Richard and Nick Brodie retained their title for another year.

Holyport Holyport

By Josh Smith, Head Professional

As we reflect on the 2021/22 season we must first give thanks to John Evans, whose near decade of stewardship of Holyport Real Tennis Club came to a conclusion at the beginning of the season, signing off with another successful Holyport Bowl. John’s time at Holyport saw the club make many positive changes and I am grateful to have taken over such a beautiful and well run club chock-full full of potential. I know the club and the members are tremendously grateful to the hours of time and effort that John put into Holyport, so on behalf of everyone here we give a heartfelt thank you John.

I would also like to give a personal thank you to both the ownership and membership of Holyport, who have warmly welcomed me into their club. I wanted to hit the ground running, and our goals this season revolved around getting our members back into the swing of Tennis. After the pandemic, a season with no interruptions would be a success and we wanted to create some momentum; we had a full list of matches, tournaments, events, and set about providing a warm and social atmosphere at the club - all things that have been difficult to achieve throughout covid-19. I am delighted to report success in all of these areas, and we rounded off the season on Finals Day where our Club Singles (Andy Keeley), Club Doubles (Andy Keeley and Charles Human), Handicap Singles (Theo Besnard) and Bandit Cup Doubles (Sarah Lambie and Richard Bird) were played and crowned in front of the most supporters that we have seen all year. Nick Parkinson and Richard Bird receive great thanks for their brilliant contributions on the catering and the trophies.

We are happy to report increases in membership, a target we will continue into the coming season. We are also pleased to have installed streaming facilities, and plan to offer a range of video services to the members. As we look ahead we intend to continue our current trajectory with a particular view to establishing a junior programme, engaging with local sports clubs and schools, and to give our members new services and support to their Tennis including a new online club shop. We very much look forward to the coming season, building on what we have achieved this year.

Hyde Hyde

By Adrian Paterson, Chairman

It has been an absolute joy to have been able to move on from the covid era and for all our members to have been able to get back to playing regular Tennis. Court usage is back to pre - pandemic levels and our Membership is once again gently growing. I am also pleased to report that progress with our juniors continues apace with a core group of U16s having regular coaching sessions.

Our Club is now fully refurbished following our fund raise in 2020 and, after much back and forth with the planners, we successfully completed the replacement of our pot holed drive with tarmac which has been a great relief to us all.

As well as all our internal Club competitions we were also busy hosting external competitions including the Category B (10-14 and 15-19) competition as well as the Brodie Cup and Chetwood Trophy finals and the FLM National League Premier Division. In the Cat B 15-19, Chris Alez and James Law faced off in a tense three set thriller with Chris narrowly taking the match 6/5 in the final set after a magnificent see-saw battle. In the 10-14 category the dedans was full of Members as we were treated to an all Hyde final as close neighbours Levi Gale and Mark Mathias took each other on. This was a match of the highest quality with Gale finally closing it out 6/2 6/3 after some incredible restes and powerful forces. The Chetwood Trophy was won by Wellington’s John Amor who beat Matt Boulton of Seacourt in two sets, thus claiming the prize that had eluded him four years ago. In the Brodie Cup final, Wellington overcame Oxford 3-2 in another excellent and closely fought match.

In March we were delighted to have the opportunity to host the FLM National League Premier Division giving our members the opportunity to watch the game played at the very highest level. In the A string singles Bryn Sayers, having never played at the Hyde before, beat local boy Ben Matthews in a fabulous match winning the division in the process. In the B string, two more local protagonists Levi Gale and Neil Mackenzie gave us a stirring spectacle with Neil winning in two sets and, in a fine example of the art of doubles, Ben and Levi paired up to defeat Bryn and Neil. Overall, it was a fabulous evening of Tennis and much enjoyed by a packed dedans. Hopefully this brilliant initiative will be repeated and we can welcome back these top class players again.

The success of our Club would be nothing without our wonderful professionals, Jez Brodie and Stephen Grier and once again, I would like to thank them for all their hard work and cheerful demeanour. As ever, do drop in and see us if you are ever in this beautiful part of the world.

Top: The Wellington Brodie Cup team lift the trophy after a close final against Oxford. The final was played at Hyde. Above: A friendly welcome in Dorset.

Jesmond Dene Jesmond Dene

By Richard MacAlister, Chairman

We started the new season with renewed optimism after successful refurbishment of the club’s facilities. At the beginning of October we were pleased to welcome old friends and new for the Great North Doubles. This is an open handicap tournament with our annual dinner held on court on the Saturday night. The Tennis was very competitive and the eventual winners were John Duns and Darren Spurling who beat Tony Harrison and Craig Swallow – not the first time that the Harrison Family feature in handicap tournament finals. The dinner was great fun and the festivities continued until late. The Club Handicap Singles again featured the Harrisons with Tony as ruthless as ever, beating his wife, Fiona, in the final. The Club Handicap Doubles was an exception, not featuring a Harrison in the final, and was won by Ralph Jackson and Archie Mayer who beat Bryan Eaton and Chris Marks.

In December we played against Prested Hall in the Field Trophy and had a very close match. It stood at 2 matches all and youngster Tom Hetherington looked all set to complete the win at one set all and 4-2 up in the third when injury hit. After an injury break he was able to continue but was clearly struggling and couldn’t complete the win. The following day the Brodie Cup team were outplayed at Radley.

The other major competitions were the Sir Andrew Noble Doubles where Will Todd and Charlie Wells beat Rachel Hollington and Fiona Harrison, the Williamsons Handicap Singles, won by low handicapper Alex Dyter (who beat Fiona Harrison) and the Ladies Singles was won by Fiona Harrison.

We are grateful to Mark and Zak Eadle for their enthusiasm and dedication as professionals. Zak, in particular, has endeavoured to bring high quality Tennis to Jesmond with a National League team and drove the expansion of the Jesmond Dene Cup, sponsored by Queensway Dental. It attracted a very high quality field including many of the top professionals, who all seemed to enjoy their visit. The spectators were treated to some breathtaking Tennis and, in the final, John Lumley proved too strong for Bryn Sayers to win in two sets.

Sadly, in June our former Chairman, Freddy Such, passed away. He helped the club through its development to becoming a full time Real Tennis club in the nineties. He was an enthusiastic player and great supporter of the club and will be sorely missed.

Jesmond Dene has great ambitions to develop the facilities and expand the Tennis and we have been fortunate to have secured a grant from a local charity, the Catherine Cookson Foundation, with a great deal of help from The Dedanists’ Foundation, which will help us to make further improvements over the summer. John Lumley receiving the Jesmond Dene Cup

Leamington Leamington

Founded in 1846, Leamington Tennis Court Club.

Manchester Manchester

By Jamie Bebb, Chairman

The Club has undergone extensive repairs to the external structure of the building, in particular the roof, over the course of the last two years and we are very grateful to all who contributed to the cost. The final bill was signed off earlier this year and we now hope for no more leaks on the courts.

This has allowed us to engage in post-lockdown freedoms, starting with the annual curtain-raiser, the Pennant final. In a repeat of last year’s event. the Legal Eagles beat the Erratics, a triumph gained overall by the traditional tactic of dropping their most senior player throughout the season and playing their fast-improver instead. The Smithie weekend doubles was won by Jonathan Heaton and John Clarkson, who beat John Mortimer and John Oliviero 6/3.

In the Manchester Gold Racquet in October, doubles took centre stage. In the singles final, Ben Cawston beat Theo Taylor 15/2 15/1 15/4 and then teamed up with Alex Duncliffe-Vines to beat Christian Portz and Robert Shenkman 15/0 15/6 15/5. This was Robert’s first year as tournament organiser, having taken over from the estimable Brendan Hegarty, who had revived the tournament in the early part of the century and nursed it to its present standing on the international stage and to whom the Club owes a great debt of gratitude.

In November, we held the delayed handicap singles which, in a final that ended 7-all 40-all, was won by the Hon. Sec., Jamie Bebb, who just prevailed, giving receive-15 owe-30 one serve banned tambour to his opponent Aaron Peden. He held the title for a matter of a mere few weeks, however, as the current running of the event was held in February and here things were more straightforward. The fastimproving Abdullah Naveed beat Charles Whitaker 8/3. The Bentley Doubles in December inspired another tight thriller. Mike Purcell and Charles Whitaker beat Jamie White and David Summersgill 8/7, the final game also going to 40-all! A slightly narrower handicap was involved than that of the earlier singles, with the winners receiving 30 and the losers owing 40.

The Kershaw Cup and Thomas trophy were held in March. In a repeat of the previous (2020) final, William Maltby beat Martin Richards 6/4 6/2, with Martin not quite able to reproduce the intensity and accuracy of his power hitting that had so disconcerted William on the previous occasion. The B singles was won by Paul Butler, who beat Ronald Paterson 6/2. In the Thomas Trophy final, the rock-steady Jesmond pairing of Simon Johnston and Tony Harrison beat the more volatile regular pair, John Mortimer and John Oliviero 6/3. Darren Long and Robert Shenkman went through the National League season unbeaten and played the Oratory – Clare Fahey and Levi Gale – in the final in Manchester, which they won 2 matches to nil in front of a roisterously partisan gallery. Robert was undefeated throughout the campaign and took the tournament MVP award. The Manchester Legal Eagles The Club is in good heart – to such an extent that a syndicate of members has “invested” in a 6-year-old hurdler, in training locally, being prepared for a September campaign in the Club name. Watch this space. Many congratulations are due to Robert Shenkman, who has become the latest on the Honour roll in the USA, having won the Amateur titles at both singles and doubles for 2022.

And finally, congratulation to all the MTRC representatives across the age categories in the recently-held Masters in France. Simon Shenkman (over-50s), Jamie Bebb (over70s) and Robin Barlow (over-80s) all won their respective team events.

MCC MCC

By Giles Pemberton, Chairman

After a nil return in 2020/21 the season kicked off with a new fixture against The Army in early September. With the season now finished results were mixed but enthusiasm unbounded. Owing to fixture congestion the DW Cull Trophy normally held in October was not played.

Skills Night organized by Ian Harris in early November proved ever popular with 18 players of all standards gathering for a convivial evening. Team “Three Sheets to the Wind” consisting of Tony Friend, Catherine Walker and Nick Esses won the event in style.

Monthly Tennis Club Nights were reintroduced in January. Participation has been good and has provided members with the opportunity to play and meet informally with fellow members. Younger players (under 35) evenings continue to be held on Mondays with enthusiastic participation and included a pre-Christmas Festive Club Night, Henry Stuttaford and Tom Guest winning the doubles suitably hatted.

The Club’s major internal event, the Tennis Weekend was held at the end of January. The winners were: Mason Sharp Cup - Kate Evers and Jonathan Ellis-Miller Osborn Parker Cup - Sebastian Wood and James Leeper The winners of the internal competitions in February were: DP Henry Cup – Ben Jeffery beat Richard Gray R Aird Cup – Nick and Ben Jeffery beat Ronald Paterson and Chris Thomas WH Ollis Cup – James McDermott beat Andrew Hinds HD Johns Cup – Gareth Zundel and Sebastian Wood beat Jonathan Ellis-Miller and Richard Spencer RG Paterson Bowl – Ben Jeffery beat Ben Martin MCC Generations Cup (Christie Trophy) - Giles and Hugh Pemberton beat James and Conor Coley

The Club hosted the 151th Varsity Match in early March with dinner in the Long Room at which the guest speaker was former MCC President Mike Griffith. Oxford men beat Cambridge and Cambridge women beat Oxford. The MCC All Comers Tournament was won by Rob Shenkman. The delayed MCC Gold Racquet for 2021 was played at the end of March between the holder Ed Kay and Jamie Douglas, the latter winning his tenth trophy. The 2022 Gold Racquet was successfully defended by Jamie against Ed in June.

MCC Pol Roger team lost to Queen’s Club in the early stages and had to win an eliminator against Seacourt to stay in the event next season. With a considerably strengthened team they duly won. In the Brodie Cup MCC beat MURTC in the first round but lost narrowly to Radley in the second round.

Essential work to the Tennis Court roof was successfully carried out in January to March as were internal redecorations to the professionals’ area and male and female changing rooms, all of which has given the area a smarter feel.

The Club’s young assistant professional Jack Clifton left in April. Chris Bray has just been appointed as new Head Professional. He has been with the Club since August last on an advisory basis and will take up his new role in July. Looking ahead, the Club will be hosting the Centenary of the Bathurst Cup from 8 to 15 October 2022. The GB team (current holders) will be captained by Jamie Douglas.

Moreton Morrell Moreton Morrell

By Simon Hobson, Chairman

Itook over as Chairman from Sir Andrew Hamilton last July and want to recognise his outstanding service to the club. Andrew was Chairman for 20 years, during which MMTCC has thrived, building membership and participation, becoming a registered charity and replacing the deteriorating Bickley floor. The floor is a stunning success and Bruce Paxton’s recognition as floor expert to the Tennis world is well deserved. A new trophy has been created in Andrew’s honour and Bruce was awarded honorary life membership, in recognition of their individual contributions. (Note that our Articles of Association as a Charity now limit the tenure of the Chair so history will not be repeated by me!)

Fundraising for the floor restoration was finally drawn to a close with a much delayed but tremendous Gala Dinner on June 11th where Rory Bremner regaled us with comments from many celebrities including Donald Trump’s views on “Moreton Morrelle”. It was great to see many players from other clubs competing in the weekend handicap doubles tournament, won by the LRTA pair Katie Leppard and Candida Nicholls. Thanks to Princes Cup Finalists: Winners LRTA (Katie Lappard & Candida Nicholls) and Hamsters (Robert Frost & Charlie Kearl)

our sponsors BLB Associates and Richard George Tailoring for their support.

Post covid recovery of play has been strong with the pent up desire for Tennis filling our courts well. We have been able to complete most of our tournaments and honours boards will only miss one year as a record of the pandemic’s dreadful impact.

One of our projects this year has been to explore a new Junior Development Plan. Working with support from the Dedanists, we ran a successful 6-week course last Autumn with 8 participants from which 3 young players are now keen enthusiasts. Our Easter “camp” had less interest and had to be cancelled so we are reviewing our approach and offering targeted junior packages to a slowly growing list of new youngsters; it takes a lot of energy and tenacity to build and maintain a junior programme!

Care of our 1905 building is a constant concern and we commissioned a quinquennial report to enable planning and budgeting of maintenance works. Happily, there were no shocks in the report but there is plenty to do, as expected, with our cellar and non-court roofs being priority items. We are fortunate to have the support of members, most of whom give monthly to a building fund and of a benefactor who has funded major maintenance such as our recently restored clerestory windows and redecoration of the penthouse corridor. Taking on the Chair role has been exciting and rewarding, if a little more time consuming than I had expected! I am confident that with the experience of our Board and our excellent Pro’s Tom and Lloyd, MMTCC can continue to grow whilst maintaining its reputation of a warm welcome and excellent playing surface. Rory Bremner in action at the Gala Dinner

MURTC MURTC

By Julian Ashby, Chairman

This has been a year of exceptional highs and lows for the Club. Following our very successful Crowdfunding campaign, we have smartened up our court facilities, invested heavily in student Tennis and gained new members. We are grateful to the many people across the Real Tennis community who supported us. We have also had a very active year on the court. We took in the first IIP trainee Jack Josephs who had a very successful spell at the club. Within 9 months Jack was down to a 27 handicap and able to carry out all aspect of the professional job well. This in turn lead him to securing a job at the Royal Tennis Court and we wish him the best of luck in his future endeavours.

The Cattermull Cup was again a great success with another fantastic entry, in the end it was the team of Felix Delaforce and Jonathan Potter who lifted the trophy for Winchester after 3 days of high quality doubles play. The worlds best then descended on the club for The Real 10. It was a superb exhibition of Tennis as Rob Fahey, Bryn Sayers, Ben Taylor-Matthews, Josh Smith and Will Burns did battle for the coveted trophy. Ben TaylorMatthews came out on top in one of the first professional tournaments after the various covid interruptions. The U24's & U21s British Open gave us a glimpse at the future as some of the best young players in the world took centre stage, the tournament was dominated by Will Flynn who took all the prizes with some excellent performances. Will won the doubles trophy with Max Trueman, who also played very well throughout.

Both of our national League sides had a fantastic season and made in to the finals. The team of Simon McLoughlin, Alex Hume and Jack Josephs lifted the trophy at Queen’s Club in Division 7 for a superb win. In Division 9 Mark Heffernan, Stuart Kerr, and Ben Geytenbeek (Hatfield) came up just short losing 1-2 away to Petworth but showed great fighting spirit throughout.

The Court has been under threat for some time. We presented a strong case to the University for the renewal of our lease and gained widespread support across the Real Tennis world. In the end the University decided that they had better uses for the space on what is now their core campus and have given us four years notice. Our appeal was rejected and the Court will close in February 2026. A group of members (with support from the T&RA) are exploring options for a new North London court. But such endeavours are never easy.

Lastly we say goodbye to Chris Bray who is moving on to the MCC. We wish him the best of luck and look forward to Will Burns taking the club forward on its next steps. The worlds best descended on the club for The Real 10, pictured above with some of the University students.

Newmarket Newmarket

By Hugo Johnsen, Chairman

Newmarket Real Tennis Club is in fine health and, although with a relatively low membership, we continue to offer plenty of internal and external matches which are well supported. We have just completed our 2022 Rose Bowl which was won by the home team of Charlie Pittaway & Sandy Norman, who beat the Turner Bros in the final.

Our plans to restore the interior of the court are still ongoing as finding a suitable way to get a firm riser station into the court to enable us to work over the penthouse, is still ongoing. Due to our restricted access, it is impossible to get a cherry picker onto the court so we are negotiating to knock a hole in the side wall in line with the Post, which will enable us to drive straight on to the court area.

At Christmas we hosted a hugely enjoyable party that culminated in our professioanl Andrew Knibbs taking on the Prested Pro, Mark Hobbs in an exhibition match with a difference. For every game that was won, the winner had to put on another piece of Santa Clause clothing, the last being a fat cushion inside the jacket and above the belt.

Recently we entertained Brenner Wooley from Radio Suffolk who had never experienced the sport. He came and spent two hours watching and trying out the game, interviewed the chairman and professional and then gave a 20-minute slot on the radio. We have yet to do the same on local TV! An exhibition match with a difference!

Oratory Oratory

By Simon Wetton, Chairman

Fahey’s inspirational guidance and coaching, with team victories against the recent dominance of Wellington, Radley, something not enjoyed for many years. The expectation is that this will continue into the upcoming season and various players going on to complete in the national championships and hopefully pick up some individual silverware too.

It has been a challenging period for the Oratory, thankfully not for negative reasons, but because of the significant positive changes we have undertaken to transform the club over the last few years. Our challenges now revolve around satisfying the demand and available court time to satisfy both the requirements of the school and the members.

Our transformation was the work of several years of change and the belief in the School head and governors to embrace our proposals for the way forward. Covid was oddly beneficial in that it provided a unique opportunity for the school to use the court almost full time as students needed alternatives to contact sports. It also saw a significant influx of new members joining and the combination now swelling the clubs booking sheet to bursting point. Many thanks to our Professional team of Rob and Levi Gale for their outstanding work in this area. At a club level the traditional success in the Thames Valley League has been continued with a second place result this year, and good results in both National League Div1, for Claire and Levi Gale through to the finals but losing to a very strong Manchester duo and Div 9 as semifinalists as well as an MVP award for Martin McNair who also saw individual success in the National Category 40’s championships. The Club was also able to post entries across a range of the Category championships and played a full list of Club fixtures both home and away.

As we move forward the club plans four Padel courts in the near future which we hope will attract significant interest and the potential for a raft of new players that we can also entice to have a go at Real Tennis.

As this first season has finished, the fruits of this demand has delivered notable success on court. The Oratory school Juniors have proved formidable under Claire Let’s also not forget our own World Champion, Rob Fahey also defends his overdue title fight at Prested Hall this year and is hard into his training as he has some family honour to uphold after Claire’s own successful defence of the Ladies World Championships in Fontainebleau. All in all, The Oratory has reinvigorated itself, protected its future, attracted lots of new players, and inspired a new range of juniors to start playing.

The Oratory has reinvigorated itself, protected its future, attracted lots of new players, and inspired a new range of juniors to start playing.

Oxford Oxford

By Neil Mortensen, President

We have been delighted to see so many members and students on court. Tennis is back and firing on all four cylinders. As well as the Brodie Cup, the Thames Valley League and the National League, we have at last held a proper Varsity match after the fixture last year without spectators or a dinner due to covid. This year’s splendid celebration at Lords included as guests a number of the 150th anniversary players , joining the teams for the 151st mens varsity match and the 30th womens match. Honours were shared with the men winning 6-0, and our women’s team losing 2-4 after some outstanding matches.

the mission of the club is to support and promote student Tennis. But we would like past student players to be more involved in the future of the game. So this is why we have relaunched the Railroad Club. Andrew Davis and Graham Harding worked tirelessly to establish lists and networks of all those who have both appeared for the University or just enjoyed playing. We had a fabulous evening at the Oxford and Cambridge Club in London in May with a good crowd and a particularly moving recorded speech from Spike Wilcocks, recovering from a serious road traffic accident, and describing how much playing Tennis in Oxford had meant to him. We hope it will be the start of a successful initiative. If reading this you would like more information about the

Bill Broadbent 1951-2021 generous benefactor It is sad to have to report the deaths of two of the most significant figures in the Club’s recent history. Bill Broadbent, a successful American banker died aged 70 in Florida. His two children Avery and William jr both played as students for OUTC, and as a mark of appreciation he made a generous benefaction to enable the club buildings to be modernised. Simon Stubbings, a retired lawyer, served as President of the club from 2009 until 2014. He was an enthusiastic player, supporter, and a great friend to many. The Broadbent and Stubbings names will live on in some new club competitions.

Simon Stubbings, on court on a chilly day

The Queen’s Club The Queen’s Club

By Alan Giddins, Tennis Chairman

After two years of covid disruption the courts at Queen’s saw their highest ever levels of utilisation. This is a reflection of both the energy and enthusiasm with which people returned to the game in September, and the outstanding job done by Ben Ronaldson, Bryn Sayers and Neil Mackenzie in encouraging members back on court. Perhaps the only upside of covid was that the club were able to bring forward a number of maintenance projects, such that we have had two courts in excellent condition throughout the season.

In the club championship Jamie Douglas defeated Rory Giddins, while in the Ladies singles Tara Lumley defeated Izzy Candy. Bertie Vallat won the Drollas Cup (20-29 handicap), Rory Musgrove won the Broadwood (30-39) and Richard Henman won the Druce (handicap singles). We had two fantastic handicap weekends which saw over 200 entries in the A and B singles and doubles, necessitating the tournament to start on the Thursday evening. Thanks to the incredible organisational skills of Astrid Drayson, our fixtures secretary, we had a very full fixture list of matches against other clubs. We once again hosted The British Open, the Amateur Championship, and the Henry Leaf, as well as a number of other clubs/associations including the British Army, Hurlingham Pigeons, The Bar, The Dedanists and The Jesters. Congratulations to Jamie Giddins on winning the British Amateur Doubles for the third year running. A particular highlight of the year was winning the Pol Roger for the first time since 2016, defeating RTC in the final. Huge credit for this goes to our captain, Jonny Whitaker, ably supported by Matthieu Sarlangue, Rory Giddins, Henry Mullen, Harry Eddis, Nick James and Richard Elmitt. We had four teams in the National League, where we reached three finals (Divisions 3, 5 and 7), but sadly could not get on the winners podium. A huge thank you to Lesley Ronaldson for her brilliant organisation of the National League.

We have a growing junior programme, for which huge thanks to Ben Ronaldson’s enthusiasm and ability to encourage juniors to try out the game. Of particular note, James Rossiter reached the final of the British U18 singles, Bertie Vallat won the U16 singles and Max Warner won the U14 singles. All three are extremely talented Real Tennis players.

Petworth Petworth

By Robert Dolman, Chairman

After two mainly fallow years, Petworth House Tennis Court was delighted, and also relieved, to be back to business as usual for the 2021/22 season. Happily, we were able to support our two professionals (Tom Durack and Louis Gordon) during the pandemic so that they did not suffer financially, with members contributing a fighting fund of over £28,000 to assist with this. As a thank you to members Tom and Louis opened the season with an exhibition match ("the Battle of the Pros") and clinic to remind us all how to play followed by a splendid curry fest from David Fortune.

The court usage has fairly much returned to normal throughout the year and many enjoyable friendly matches were played both home and away. We remain keen to encourage these matches which give the chance for members of different standards to visit other clubs and meet and entertain their members.

On the competitive front, our Pol Roger team overcame Seacourt 3-2 at home in an exciting contest, but then succumbed to RTC in the semi-final. Encouragingly we have a young team, with Freddie Bristowe playing and the oldest team member being Nick Harris at age 41; this bodes well for the future.

Apart from the professionals playing well in Division 1 of the National League, the club fielded three other National League teams (Division 5, 7 and 9) with our Division 9 heroes (captained by Adrian Warburton with variously Stuart Allison, Fergus Jenkins, George Andrews and Simon Armstrong) beating the combined team of Hatfield and MURTC in a closely contested final.

In the various club tournaments, Luke Danby and Adam Dolman resumed the next instalment of their long running club tournament finals with Luke triumphing in three close sets, reversing the result when they played in the Pol Roger match. In the other grades, the B section was won by Hereward Taylor, the C section by Phillip Nash, the D section by Hamish Porter and the E section by Thomas Prince. The club doubles (named the Ellis Rich Trophy) won by Adam Dolman and Nick Harris and the Robinson Trophy by Jon Petersen and Tim Armstrong. In the club handicap singles tournaments, the Penthouse Cup saw Gus James beat Tom Compton and the Smith Bingham Trophy was won by Dik van Lomwel beat Henry Russell. We held two handicap doubles weekends during the season, with the Hennell Plate (where you enter with a chosen partner) being won by James Delliere and Tom Miller and the Secretary’s Cup (random partners) being won by Gus James and Ali Williams.

The junior section of the club continues to flourish, with Max Trueman beating Bertie Vallat in the final of the under 24 Page Cup and Arthur Munn beating Gus James in the under 21 George Cooke Trophy. Gus playing with his father Tim won the Two Generations Tournament. The Godfray Racket saw three local prep-schools (Cottesmore, Westbourne House and Amesbury) play a very close contest, with each school winning the same number of matches and Cottesmore winning on count back, by one game, against previous winners Westbourne.

On the more social level, the Sunday Pennant saw ten teams play, eat and drink their way merrily through the season with the victors FSB (Simon Fisk, Richard Stables and James Carnegie-Brown) winning all their matches. The Eddie Harrison Trophy for the season's most improved player went to Richard Stables and the Ritblat Trophy (for the club member who has made an outstanding contribution to the club in the year) went to Carole Muir in recognition of her many years devoted service on the Board. Carole has now stepped down from the Board and has been replaced by Tim James. It was also splendid to see our evergreen member Nigel Draffan win the National over 70s doubles title and participate in the British team's triumph in the Danby Cup (over 70), as did Geoffrey Russell in the over 60s Bostwick Cup.

The season finished in true Petworth manner with champagne and canapes with our annual summer party in the beautiful gardens of Champs Hill.

The court remains in good order (apart from the occasional leak) and our thanks go to club secretary Jon Petersen and the professionals for installing our excellent new streaming system so that we can not only watch our triumphs and disasters on YouTube but also watch matches from the comfort of the club room for those unable to tear themselves away from the lunch table. We have been keen to support the IIP programme and are delighted, through the good offices of the T&RA, to welcome Tim Armstrong (son of Simon) who joined us as an apprentice on 1 August.

All in all, therefore, a good Headmaster's report for the season!

Prested Prested

By Mike Carter Prested

Tennis Club

As we crawled slowly out of lockdown in the summer of 2021, bruised, battered, confused and depressed, it was inevitable some major changes would be needed. Which events should we cancel? - (e.g., the Pro Invitation that should have started the year before); or postpone? - (e.g., the World Championship Challenge, again, from 2020); or confirm with some trepidation? (e.g., the LRTA long weekend). It all took a lot of hand-wringing, fairly certain the plague had not entirely gone away. Wilson & Dixon. He also set up a much-enjoyed juniors’ daylong tournament won by Josh Pike.

The season’s finale was to have been our club finals combined with the inaugural Pro’s Invitation (twice postponed). Sadly, two of Prested’s top players were forced to withdraw at the last minute, and the level singles was won by Matt Potter, who partnered Colin Sprott to the doubles.

Meanwhile the Pros Invitation had its own problems, when Nick Howell’s hamstring forced him to retire from a thriller with Rob Fahey at 10-10. The end result left Rob

It was also time to sort out the professionals’ structure which had proved to be not quite right, with hindsight. So, Mark Hobbs was put in overall change, while Lewis Williams, having flirted with padel, went back to his first love and has finished up in Leamington where we wish him well. And Ged Parsons, having cycled and commuted to NE Essex from southeast London, and helped out through good times and dark, finally accepted the journey was unrealistic. Thanks, Ged, for your many years with us!

So……Through the re-formulated 21/22 season we've hosted a number of TRA events: the Over 50 Doubles (winners Watson & Wright); the F-grade Singles (twice!!); the Over 40 Doubles (Wright & Packham); and the Prested Cup (the level Championship for amateurs under 20) won by Max Trueman. We also hosted the magnificent Seacourt group of a dozen or more, who have now been coming for over 20 years, twice a year. This milestone too had been postponed, and Celie and I were delighted to join Mike Cole and his group for a delayed anniversary dinner. The LRTA came in force, albeit with a bit less gusto than pre-Covid, as people were still being very cautious and every event, probably everywhere, suffered.

By Mid-winter confidence was returning and more people were playing, but still not in the hoped-for and expected numbers. Hobbsy introduced the “Prested Hall of Fame” handicap doubles which we intend making into one of the must-do events of future seasons, won this year by Messrs beating Hobbsy in the final, while Chris Chapman had to rue the complicated missing-player rulings! (All this was off half handicap.)

And then, to actually and finally end the season, we hosted the East Anglian Cup, which we won!

Radley Radley

By Maggie Henderson-Tew, Club Captain

The past year has been one of significant change and development at Radley, in personnel and appearance, although the success of the club has continued. We started the year with a professional team of two and have ended it with three, having hired Josh King and Victor Till to work with Nino Merola, which facilitated the secondment of our Head Professional, Chris Ronaldson, and Maggie Henderson-Tew, Club Captain, to the Bristol Real Tennis Club from October to March. Grateful thanks to Radley College for its unstinting and generous support of Real Tennis at the College and beyond. Josh is shortly to become IiP Level 1 qualified. We are very pleased that he has built so well on the start he has made as a coach, club professional and player.

The off-court areas at Radley have had a complete facelift, courtesy of the generous support of many of our members and Radley College. The project was devised, and the funds were raised, by Maggie H-T, with the work being carried out (with thanks to the professionals, members and visitors for their tolerance) without having to close the club. We have combined the old and contemporary in a way that we feel echoes the T&RA’s strapline of ‘A Future Built On History’, and the stylish and bold appearance is more appropriate to one of the most successful clubs in the world. We now have the Real Tennis fanatic’s favourite quotation from Shakespeare: ‘Tennis balls, my liege…’ (Henry V, Act 1, sc ii) on the walls. These famous lines a just one of the innovative wall coverings, as we have installed four of Michael Do’s stunning images of Rob Fahey and Camden Riviere in action during the 2016 World Championship Challenge at Newport RI. These forehand and backhand shots from both players have made a striking addition to the link corridor between the court, clubrooms and the College’s Sports Centre, and they look particularly impressive when illuminated at night.

We will now be able to stream live events or to watch recorded footage in the Gallery Café or the Clubroom, and the Stretching Area should help players reduce their strains and pains. The reaction to the changes has been very positive and we look forward, as always, to welcoming visitors and showing them around.

This has been a successful, if not stellar year, in terms of club and individual Tennis achievements in the revived fixtures programme. Our professionals, Nino and Josh, both finished their National League campaigns as the top player in their respective league and Nino obtained a single figure handicap for the first time. The Radley Brodie Cup side was forced to concede a rubber in its semi-final and our Field Trophy team had to do the same in its final, with both concessions proving decisive in tight matches.

A report on an excellent year for the Radley College boys’ year has been submitted separately by Mick Dean. The Radley club juniors continue to do well. Henry Henman and his father, Mike, and Louis Manson and father, Chris, won, respectively, the Level event (again) and the Handicap competition in the National Fathers and Sons tournament. Clemmie Batstone and India Deakin continue to progress in their respective specialities of Real Tennis and Rackets, with Clemmie reaching the Final of the National Schoolgirls’ U15 Tournament. India, the Rackets 2021 British Open and World Championship Doubles title holder, played a 2022 Eliminator against Cesca Sweet for the right to challenge the holder, Radley member Lea Van Der Zwalmen, who retained her World Rackets title by defeating Cesca 15/2 15/0 15/9. Lea did not play in the LRTA British Ladies’ Open, sponsored by Peter Luck-Hille but concentrated her efforts on the Ladies’ World Championship Singles. She was rewarded by a run through to the Final, which was never going to be easy, and so it proved. Lea did her best but lost to Claire Fahey 0/6 2/6, despite strong support from the crowd in Fontainebleau.

Radley College Tennis Club is in good heart and facing the future with optimism, in the fervent hope that Covid shutdowns are now a matter of history.

Radley College Radley College

By Mick Dean, Chairman

Ahighly active season has again been orchestrated and supported by Nino Merola and Josh King, with Chris Ronaldson on sabbatical at Bristol for much of the College season.

After the travails of Covid and the relatively mixed results of 2019/20, success once again was earned in the Schools competitions.

The Senior Schools National Doubles was won by Magnus Garson and Ed Alder in a real nail-biter at Queen’s Club over Wellington, retrieving a 6/7 deficit to win the 2 final games. Our second pair was unfortunately torpedoed when George Acheson-Gray sustained a nasty hockey injury, leaving captain Jonty Duncan marooned. Toby Marriott & Tom Bailey won the B Grade event from Canford.

In the U16 Doubles, victory was gained by Hugo AchesonGray with Ambrose Garson, beating our 2nd pair (Rory Acheson-Gray and Woody Walker) in a tight final. Rory & Woody had survived a match point to beat Canford in the semi-final.

George Cadbury-Gosling and Hugo Stone finished a creditable 4th in the U14 event with little experience. The National Schools Singles was also won – Magnus Garson defeating Bertie Vallat (Winchester) for the A Grade title, while Hugo Acheson-Gray also completed his U16 double by winning the B Grade title from Canford. Elsewhere, regular matches have been played against Wellington, Canford and Oratory (good to see them back competing) and also with the Dedanists, Jesters, Queen’s Club and Hardwick.

Much credit is due to Jonty Duncan, captain this season in significant improvement in his own game, but also giving much time to help coach the juniors and to organise competitions. Also to Mike Henman for his time on court, and to Andy Bishop for his energetic supporting admin role.

The Royal Tennis Court The Royal Tennis Court

By Doug Sheperdigian, Chairman

After Covid, this was a year of stabilisation, recovery and renewed optimism at RTC although it was not until July that normal social play could resume and September when the standard hourly rotation restarted. Since then, however, we have seen sustained recovery to a full playing and social programme with court usage back to 95%+ levels through the winter and spring. We are also delighted to welcome back Palace visitors to the viewing gallery, restoring RTC’s place as the only court in the world with regular public access.

In spite of the disruption, we closed our financial year in a sound position, thanks to members’ continued subscription support and prudent financial management. However, we have seen a net loss of over 40 full members over the two pandemic years and, in response, the Board has agreed a new strategy to re-build numbers. In our professional team, Josh Smith left us after eight years to be Head Professional at Holyport. After some months of searching, we were delighted to appoint Jack Josephs as our Trainee Professional. Jack was on the IiP Apprenticeship scheme at Middlesex University and made a strong impression there; we’re delighted to have him as part of the RTC team. shift has added another hour of available court time in extending our potential playing day from 0630 to 2330. Since the Autumn, normal competition has resumed at all levels. We hosted the RTC Development Tournament in September – an event designed to provide junior professionals throughout the country with an opportunity both for competition, as well as training and feedback. Nick Wood and Scott Blaber paired up for the first time at the British Open Doubles Championship where they had two excellent wins before succumbing to Fahey and Howell in the quarter-finals. In the Pol Roger Cup, RTC beat Petworth in the semi-finals before losing to Queen’s in the final. Peter Wright and partner Jamie Douglas were runners up in the 2022 British Amateur Doubles Championship.

The Club’s internal tournaments are in full swing again and we had four RTC teams in various National League divisions. The junior programme is in fine health with strong competition results and growing numbers playing. We have also been delighted to secure again the sponsorship of Mitsubishi Electric for the Champions’ Trophy, which will once again bring world-class Tennis to RTC in July 2022.

Michael Day CVO stood down after five years as Chair of the Board at the May 2022 AGM and was succeeded by Doug Sheperdigian.

Seacourt Seacourt

By Simon Flynn, Communications

It has been great to be back to a full season of competition, with plenty of Silverware secured. The Seacourt junior section continues to be successful both at grass roots level, but also with the more seasoned juniors / young adults. The Seacourt Peter Luck Hille Cup team, which included Evie Tambling, Alex Bolton, James Walker and Tom Wallace, secured back-to-back titles, defeating the Oratory at Wellington in June.

Max Trueman has had a phenomenal season, closely shadowed by team mate James Medlow. Together they won the National league Division 5 title, defeating Freddie Dixon and Charles Defries of The Queen’s Club. With James also securing the MVP for the division, winning the coveted MVP Racquet.

Max also won the Under 18 British Open singles at Queen’s, the Prested Cup for UK Under 20s and also the Under 24 British Open Doubles (Stephen Tayleur Trophy), with William Flynn at Middlesex. In addition to the Under 24 Doubles, William won the Under 24 British Open Singles (Eric Angus Cup), the Under 21 Open Singles (George Wimpey) and also qualified for the main draw of Senior British Open Singles in his debut competition.

Back at Seacourt, the Handicap Singles was won by Olivia Boulton, who defeated Simon “No Show” Armstrong in the final. Olivia will represent Seacourt in the Chetwood at the Hyde next season.

In February we were excited to be able to hold the Seacourt Silver Racquet, once again our thanks to our sponsor Peter Luck-Hille. A superb display of Tennis across four days, with the return of some familiar faces and some new ones, both Amateur and Professional, including the Men’s and Ladies World Champions. The title was secured by Zak Eadle, defeating Louis Gordon in the final. We are working plans for the 50th Anniversary of the Seacourt Silver Racquet, which is scheduled for February 2023.

A montage of highlights at Seacourt over the past 12 months.

Wellington Wellington

By Simon Roundell, Chairman

Photos:Top: IiP Pro Am at Wellington Middle: John Amor winning the Chetwood Trophy Bottom: Wellington Brodie Cup winners

It has been wonderful to have the Court back to normal as usual post 2020 this season. We welcomed Alex Machin as our new IIP apprentice in late August. Alex has been a brilliant apprentice and has thrown himself into the club, coaching the students at the College whilst rapidly improving his handicap. We believe he will make an excellent professional.

The highlights of our season were winning the Brodie Cup for the first time. Captained by Tom Monk, who unfortunately could not make the final at The Hyde due to the imminent birth of his first child. Thanks must go to all the team for the campaign and to the excellent support from some of the members making it all the way down to Bridport to support on a Sunday. Also at Bridport John Amor won the Chetwood Trophy and in Fontainebleau Algie Nottingham won the French U15 Open.

The College had a successful season too with three of the students being part of the Brodie Cup winning team. A particular mention must go to this year’s captain Cesca Sweet who has held the Schoolgirls National Singles and Doubles titles since 2019 when they were inaugurated. We also wish her twin brother Willem the best of luck in the upcoming Junior World Championship at Seacourt in August.

Many thanks must go to our professional team of Danny, Adam and Alex for continuing to make WRTC a happy and successful club, as well as the Dedanist Foundation and Society for continuing to support out Junior programmes.