Christmas Newsletter 2012 by Claire Vigrass

T&RA Newsletter – Christmas 2012

hief Executive Update

A new season and a new set Champions. The Junior Open at Queen’s in August showed a new depth to the game and Levi Gale (Hyde) extended his earlier triumphs in Fontainebleau to win the Under 18 Champonship, after a close tussle with Lewis Williams (Prested). The category tournaments around the country had a total of 98 players taking part, 10% up on last year; good news for the amateur game. The professional circuit started in earnest with the return of Cam Riviere, who dominated both the European Open and the Professional Singles, beating Bryn Sayers in both finals. However, Bryn’s moment came in the British Open when he came from behind to defeat the World Champion, Rob Fahey, in four sets. A fabulous event with some notable performances from the usual suspects – and a few new guns such as quarter-finalist Andy Fowler. For Rob, his first defeat in the British Open since 2002 – a remarkable achievement for the top player. The Rackets season started well for Harrow who narrowly defeated Cheltenham 4-3 in a close final of the Noel Bruce; although Cheltenham proved to have the more vocal support. The ever popular Invitation Singles had its usual strong entry, but when it was narrowed down to the final eight Will Hopton, the eventual winner, was the second oldest at 23. Christian Portz ran Will close in the Final, and tremendous performances from Richard Owen and Tom Billings to reach the semi-finals. The Masters saw sports supremo David Makey triumph in both the Over 40 and Over 50 Doubles and runner up to John Spurling in the Over 50 Singles, no mean achievement for the Tonbridge supremo. ATB returned to win the Amateur, defeating rising star Tom Billings in the final. On a busy weekend, the T&RA also held its AGM with the Annual Awards presented to the top achievers in both Games; more about the winners elsewhere. The Public School Singles is ongoing, with all events reaching their finale. The standard continues to be impressive, a positive sign for the future of Rackets and testament to their professionals. A sad farewell to Richard Williams. A long time supporter of Tennis, the Brigands and Holyport.

ritish Junior Championships Under 12 Final: Z Ramjane bt H Thomas 8/7

Under 14 Final: A Dyter bt C O'Donnell 6/0, 5/6, 6/3

Under 16 Final: C Braham bt H Mullan 6/1, 6/3

Under 18 Final: L Gale bt L Williams 6/5, 6/3

so both the top seeds reached the singles final. There was no rest for these finalists as they were back on court straight away for the doubles. John being partnered by David Bevan-Thomas (aged 80) and Robin with Willie by his side. This again was a close contest, sharing games most of the way; but John Ward’s uncanny consistency at the back of the court and David volleying well finally won the day 8/6.

Results: Girls Plate Under 12: A Pye bt A Paterson 6/3

After a short rest Robin and John competed in the singles final. On paper John was the stronger player and when they got on court his class shone through and there was only really ever one winner and John took it 8/3.

oel Bruce

Under 14:

The Noel Bruce Cup always starts the Rackets season with a bang. This year saw a high quality entry of twenty-three pairs from twelve schools. Four pairs were seeded, the 2011 finalists, Harrow I (Alex Titchener-Barrett & Charlie Danby) were seeded one, with Cheltenham I (Ben Snell & Nick James) the second seeds. Eton I (Guy Smith-Bingham & James Rowland Clarke) and Winchester II (Patrick Maxwell & James Bailey) made up the third and fourth seeds.

A Willis bt A Messer 8/3

Under 16: G Willis bt F Sargent 8/3 Under 18: T Lumley bt J Garside 6/0 6/3

ver 70s Amateur Singles and Doubles

This event puts our sporting lives into perspective and shows the stamina still left in a generation that are well past their sporting prime. It was a strong field which made for a great tournament. With a bit more “young blood” qualifying this year the competition, with defending champion John Ward awaiting a challenge. The first day of singles went without upset yet still producing great matches with all players looking as though they should be playing at least a decade below this category. Sunday was down to the serious business with all four semi-finals. In the first John Ward came through victorious against Willie Wilks, who played exceptionally well in the first half of the match and then Robin Barlow defeated Mike Seymour

The rest of the field enjoyed a group qualifying round, with some intriguing Rackets. In Group A, Harrow II (Joe Bone & Alaister Orchard) won all their matches easily however the closest match of the group was between Marlborough I (Fahad Roumani & Sam Barclay) who narrowly lost to Winchester II (Will Morse & B Philbrow) 13/18 17/14 15/6. Group B provided a tantalising final game between two unbeaten pairs, Charterhouse I (Alastair Gourlay & Rupert Ramsay) and Malvern II (Ryan Tulley & Tom Seymour Mead), fighting to be group winners. Malvern II proved too strong for Charterhouse, deciding the group order. The return of former top player Rupert Owen-Browne partnering Nick Hutton for Tonbridge I was a terrific sight to see as they powered themselves through the group matches until they encountered Cheltenham II (Andrew Stout & Alex Coldicott). The former world singles challenger upped his game in the 3rd to take the winners spot for Tonbridge; with Cheltenham II qualifying as runners-up. Group D provided some fascinating games with Malvern I (Ben & Tom Bomford) fighting it out against Wellington I (Mark Penna & James Fuller) and Eton II (Charlie Braithwaite & Max Seely) in the third spot. Wellington I went down fighting, putting in a terrific effort against Malvern I, taking them to three games, before losing valiantly. The final group, consisted of Radley I (Mark Silcox & Simon Higson), Malvern IV (Olly Sloane & Hylands), Tonbridge III (J Maltz & Alex Judd) with Sevenoaks (Oli Harris & Simon Mansfield) making up the group. Radley proved too strong for all of their other competitors with Tonbridge III securing runners-up. History was made with Sevenoaks recording their first ever victory – albeit a walkover but it is the participation that counts.

Quarter-finals saw Cheltenham I & II fighting against each other. But Snell and James proved too strong for Coldicott and Stout. Harrow I beat Tonbridge I, fairly easily, but it was Harrow II who shocked the number four seeds Winchester I and advanced to the semis to face their first pair. Eton I dispatched Malvern I, three games to love, although they were pushed in the first game to a set to five. The semi-finals were set and Harrow I beat their second pair by four games to one and Cheltenham dispatched Eton I four games to love. The final saw Cheltenham certainly having the vocal support of a packed gallery as they vied for their first ever Noel Bruce cup. Within the first minute, the crowd knew that they were in for something special as the ball was hit with ferocious pace around the walls. Nick James and Alex Titchener-Barrett exchanged powerful shots, both utilising the angles to great effect. Cheltenham took the lead 14-11 but were both put out. ATB served first and at 12-14, a tense three lets were called on his serve. On his forth try, ATB aced Snell to reach to 13-14. Serving to James, he faulted his first serve and on his second was duly punished by James’s classy double handed backhand. As the second string, Danby took to the service box, Snell easily returned serve and fierce rally ensued finishing with an unforced error by Danby. Cheltenham were back in the box, serving for the game 14-13. Nick James was put out immediately and it was Snell to try and close the game. His first serve, a fault, on his second serve the rallies began and after an exchange of more than twenty shots, Snell forced the ball in the back left hand corner which subsequently died on the floor. Cheltenham were one game up. The second game saw Harrow's turn to take control and the game finished 15/7 - one game apiece. In the third game Cheltenham raced to 8-0. Harrow rallied but couldn’t capitalise on their serves and in no time Cheltenham took the third 15/5. With the clock reading 2045, the match was proving to be a real test of mental and physical fitness and the fourth game proved to a real cracker. Harrow now took an 8-0 lead but Cheltenham answered their serves and managed to pull back to 78. Some ferocious points were then exchanged, both pairs failing to capitalise on getting each other out however it was Harrow who took the initiative and closed out the game 15/10. With over two hours played the game was all square at two games all. The crowd were boisterously supporting Cheltenham, but Harrow took the fifth game with ease, 15/2. Some closely fought rallies brought the sides to 12-12 in the sixth before James who was quite literally exhausted managed a cheeky back hand drive down the side of court to get the Harrow pair out. Cheltenham stepped up and served the game out - three games all. With physical exhaustion evident on both sides. ATB stepped up and using all of his experience served point after point to race to 13-0. The final nail was in the coffin and Cheltenham tried everything to get back into the game, but could only manage two further points. Harrow had the won the Noel Bruce Cup four games to three.

ategory Tournaments

The Category tournaments provide fantastic opportunities to play competitive Tennis within your own handicap bracket. As always, all the tournaments were well subscribed with great Tennis along the way. Congratulations to all winners and all participants. Winners: Category B - Hyde - Mark Mathias (10-14) Lewis Williams (15-19) Category C - Moreton Morrell - Tom Lewis (20-24) Patrick Sutton (25-29) Category D – Hatfield - Silas Manhood (30-34) Robert Shenkman (35-39) Category E – Holyport – Simon Armstrong (40-44) Keith Beechener (45-49) Category F - Leamington - Will Todd (50-54) Fiona Harrison (55-59) Category G - Prested - Vicky Ward (60+)

uropean Open 2012

Camden Riviere is the new champion The European Open was decided in 67 minutes Camden Riviere was utterly ruthless hitting the grille with regularity. Bryn started well taking the first game but was then mesmerised by Camden taking the next ten games in a row. Cam's touch was remarkable and he looked to be playing relaxed yet purposeful Tennis. At 6/1 4-0, Bryn dug deep to pull a game back but Cam took the next two games and a two set lead. Bryn rallied well in the third set with the pair sharing the first four games. But then Cam once again starting hitting the grille with alarming frequency. Bryn never stopped exploring ways to overcome the whirlwind speed of his opponent, but Cam carved out the remaining four games to take the European Open title. The final score was 6/1 6/1 6/2

anchester Gold Racquet

This year’s event was well attended, despite the counter attractions of the opening of the new Tennis court in Chicago. In the absence of ATB and an injured James Coyne, there was a great opportunity to the younger guns of the Rackets world. Despite the Chicago distractions, the tournament would not be complete without its Detroit challenge, this year in the form of Steve Toseland & Nick Harding. Seeding went to form in the early stages, although an early upset was caused by Jonny Maltz taking out the number six seed, Chris Atkins, in the first round. The top semi-final saw Nick James coming across an inspired Richard Owen, who played immaculately – keeping his head at the right moments, using a variety of accurate services to keep Nick on the back foot and winning by 17/18 15/5 15/8 15/1. No upsets were forthcoming in the doubles, the topseeded pairings of Nick James & Alex Coldicott and Christian Portz & Simon Shenkman gaining their appointed places in the final. The final went the way of the top seeds who were more at ease as a partnership and demonstrated fabulous reflexes mid-court to win 15/2 15/3 9/15 15/3. In the singles final, the first two games were fantastic affairs. Richard was playing to a very high standard and putting Christian under a lot of pressure. At 12-12, Christian served a gimme off the back wall which Richard put away and went on to serve out the game. Richard made the early running in game two, taking an 8-4 lead. By this time Christian was retrieving magnificently, however, and he kept the scoring tight and from 11-11, apart from one blemish, served out to 15/12. Unfortunately, Richard’s mobility had become impaired on account of blisters and, despite a couple of medical time-outs to try and rectify the problem, he succumbed and Christian took the last two games in rather anticlimactic fashion 15/1 15/1 to put his name on the trophy.

Mention should be made of Rod MacNaughtan who spent a great deal of the weekend chained to a vice stringing a succession of racquets and Jonny Maltz who supplemented the organisers’ marking admirably. Stella and her staff provided meals and an excellent dinner on Saturday night to a well-entertained group of players (in various dress codes), wives and supporters. Oh yes, the Detroit Challenge was won by Detroit!

eptune British Open Champ’ships

Bryn Sayers overcame the phenomenon which is Rob Fahey to win the Neptune British Open 2012. Starting slowly, Bryn lost the first set 2/6 before a remarkable comeback from 0-3 in the second, winning 6/5 to turn the tide. The flow became a flood in the third as Bryn raced through 6/1 - a two sets to one lead. Rob then responded in the fourth, taking a 4-0 lead but his tenacious opponent fought back to 4-all, and then 5-all, before winning the all-important eleventh game.

The match was a remarkable feast of high class Tennis. Rob showed his traditional power and anticipation, but at times lacked his penetrating railroad service. His younger opponent covered the court, returning seemingly impossible shots, in turn pushing Rob to even heights to put the ball away. Bryn’s high serve dropped steeply, tight to the back wall, testing Rob’s cut volley return. However, the World Champion fought hard and kept himself in the game with fabulous anticipation to defend the grille and the galleries. Both players hit powerful main wall boasts, punishing any loose serves. As Bryn collected his prize from Neptune’s Robin Geffen, he acknowledged the contribution made to the game by his childhood hero, Rob, who has been at the top of the world order in Tennis ever since Bryn first picked up a racquet at Seacourt, on the south coast. Bryn is testament to the Junior coaching programme and the Academy, every inch a true British Champion.

nvitational Qualifying Tournament

Tom Billings beat Mike Bailey 3-0 in a great display of Rackets to be the first qualifier for the Invitation singles. Some excellent retrieving from Billings left Bailey a bit perplexed in the first two games but the third game Mike found his length and took a commanding lead. Billings came back into the game and drew the scores level at 14-14. Set to three was chosen and after a few hands by each player Billings took the game, and the match 3-0, 15/8 15/8 16/13.

Bryn Sayers bt Rob Fahey 2/6 6/5 6/1 6/5 British Open Doubles Rob Fahey partnered by Steve Virgona, the world doubles champions proved too much on the night for the valiant pairing of Bryn Sayers and Kieran Booth. The contest was defined by ferocious ground shots and devastating volleys, although Bryn and Kieran held their own through the first two sets. Both pairs quickly settled into the first set, but it was the defending champions who made the first move. Once they had the momentum, they closed out the set 6/2. They carried this forward into the second set but Bryn worked the back walls with his usual tenacity, and Kieran volleyed imperiously, often against venomous deliveries heading for the grille or galleries. However, with Rob on fire picking out the winning gallery and Steve in breathtaking form, the second set headed towards its conclusion, with the champions winning 6/3; a two sets to love lead. The third set sounds onesided, but Steve in particular was playing a mixture of raw power and delicate cut which proved irresistible. As the championship was sealed without further loss of any games, the watching supporters clearly could have watched more. Robin Geffen of Neptune Investment Management presented the stunning trophies and commented that he could easily have watched a bestof-seven encounter! In summary, magnificent Tennis by all four combatants, who each played their role impeccably in an unforgettable finale.

F in a

Fahey/Virgona bt Sayers/Booth 6/2 6/3 6/0

Richard Owen continued his fine form from Manchester to also qualify by beating Will Morse, who played strongly to qualify from his group. Richard was a little strong for Will from the outset but there were some tremendous rallies and the gallery got a real show but Richard prevailed 3-0, 15/8 15/7 15/2. In the final, Richard played exceptionally well to fend off Billings’ challenge and secure a 3-0 victory in just over an hour, winning the match 3-0, 15/8 15/10 15/13.

nvitational Singles Championship

Christian Portz qualified as Group B winner over the first weekend but then the other places were decided on the last day. Richard Owen had already qualified from Group A by beating Nick James, having given Will Hopton something to think about earlier in the week. But the final places were only decided once Will had beaten Nick to take the top spot, leaving Richard as runner up – lining up Christian in the semifinal. The final match saw Tom Billings and Ben Snell go head to head to secure the runners up spot in Group B – Tom won through and will play Will in the first semi-final In the final, the first two games were won by Will Hopton at the cost of extremely few points because he did not make a single unforced error! He was retrieving well as ever and pouncing on any short balls and placing them well down the lines. The third game saw his first mistake on a backhand volley and most players would have seen this as a blip but Christian Portz saw this as a chink of light and worked harder, pulling out all the stops for a comfortable 3rd game win; and then capitalised on this to secure an even more comfortable 4th game. Christian was retrieving well and was finding a much better length with his powerful kills. All was set up for a 5th game showdown as all knew Hoppy would not give in easily but given his 4 th game performance it was hard to see how he could turn back the tables. Will took an early lead but the scores remained within a couple of points of each other until Will reached 10-8 and he scored a run up to 13. Christian could not score with his last opportunity so Will was home and dry. Will Hopton bt Christian Portz 15/1 15/4 11/15 1/15 15/9. This was a great final, which summarised the nature of the tournament. An extremely young field with all four semi-finalists (including Richard Owen and Tom Billings rocketing up the world rankings to 9th and 11th respectively) aged under 24 and some high quality Rackets. It shows much promise for the future.

asters â&#x20AC;&#x201C; O40s, O50s & O60s

Over 40s Singles winner: J Male Over 40s Doubles winners: D Makey & R OwenBrowne Over 50s Singles winner: J Spurling Over 50s Doubles winners: D Makey & R Wakely Over 60s Doubles winners: C Hue Williams & D Norman

nter-Schools Singles Tournament The event was divided into 2 grades.

The two groups in the B grade were won by Felix White, who beat Ollie Dernie (Radley) and Ben Irwin (Warwick) and by Rupert Boddington who got past Charles Hamilton (Warwick) and David Parry (Clifton) in a very fine 6/4 set. Irwin beat Hamilton 6/4 for 5 th place while the deserving David Parry beat Ollie Dernie for 3rd. The all-Radley B grade final failed to live up to its considerable potential as young Felix White swept Rupert Boddington aside, finding his feet quickly as Rupert failed to recapture his outstanding form of the group matches. The A grade group matches threw up some superb matches, and upset the handicap form considerably. George Buckley (Radley) by far the highest handicapper at 37, played with great effect to give close games to Ben Robinson (Radley 29), though struggled to make much impact on Levi Gale (Hyde 17). He finally gave Henry Mullan (Clifton 25) a wonderful match, narrowly failing to gain 3rd place. Levi Gale beat Henry Mullan comfortably before the major upset of losing to Ben Robinson 3/6, who then in turn lost 5/6 to Mullan in another superb contest. This effectively deprived Henry Mullan of a final spot, and he had to content himself with 3 rd place after just shaving past George Buckley 6/5 in the play-off. The final saw Gale gain revenge on Robinson but only by 6/5 after having to save a match point at 4-5 attacking a hazard chase in a truly memorable match.

mateur Singles Championship

In the final Alex displayed his dominance on court whilst Tom Billings showed us a glimpse of the future. After a nervy start Alex made the first break, with a run on serve. His lead couldn't be broken and a quick first game went to Alex. The second game saw a real fight from Tom. ATB went 9-0 up and the crowd thought we were heading for an early finish, but Tom dug deep and showed the skill and determination that got him to the final. The crowd, at this stage heavily backing the underdog, were on edge as Tom came back to 9-all. This is when Alex really showed what makes him one of the best players in the world. After a few tight points and long rallies, Alex broke Tom's run and managed to secure the second game 15/9. The third game saw much of the same. Tom was retrieving fantastically well but only to be punished time and time again by Alex's pace and angles. A first major final for Tom, at age 19 is a fantastic achievement. He is certainly one to watch for the future and many more finals to come no doubt! For Alex, his 5th consecutive Amateur Singles title, incredible. His dedication and determination keeps him at the top. Next for Alex is the British Open in January and seeing his performance this week, he'll certainly be the one to beat. Rob Fahey presented prizes on behalf of Neptune. He thanked Queen's Club, tournament organiser Alistair Gourlay and all those that made the tournament possible. The players thanked Neptune for their sponsorship and continued support to Rackets.

rodie Cup Quarter-finals

Seacourt beat Jesmond Dene 5-0 Hatfield beat Hyde 5-0 Radley beat Newmarket 4-1 Holyport beat Prested 4-1

ield Trophy

Quarter-finals Holyport beat Middlesex RTC 5 â&#x20AC;&#x201C; 0 Moreton Morrell beat Prested 3-2 Jesmond beat Manchester 3-2 Cambridge beat Radley w/o

ol Roger

Henry Johns Cup - John Lumley

Quarter-finals Queen's beat Seacourt w/o Oxford beat RTC 3-2 Petworth beat Leamington 5-0 MCC beat Hatfield 5-0

&RA Annual Lunch & Awards

Another year has passed by and another T&RA Lunch and Awards. A well-attended event, which everyone enjoyed in a relaxed atmosphere. The lunch was well positioned on ‘Super Saturday’ so plenty of high class Tennis and Rackets on offer too. Warburg Trophy - Claire Vigrass

John has reduced his handicap, won the Under 21 Singles and Doubles and the Under 24 Singles and Doubles. John was also the top student on last year’s Club Professional Development. Negretti Cup - Alex Titchener-Barrett The best Rackets performance by an Amateur, awarded to Alex as winner of Amateur Singles and Doubles. Latham Cup - Will Hopton

Claire was selected to receive the award for the best British men’s or ladies professional performance during the season based on her outstanding achievements including the Ladies Grand Slam in Open Singles and Doubles 2011/2012, Ladies World Champion May 2011, LRTA International May 2012. Baerlein Cup - Levi Gale This is awarded Will on the basis of his seminal performance against ATB to win the British Open, a result which upset the rankings and was considered to be the best single performance by a professional during the season. In addition, as a first year professional, he won the British Open Singles, UK Pro Singles, Under 24, Noel Bruce, MGR, Clifton Boasters, British Open Doubles Renny Trophy - Nick James

In difficult contest, the decision was made to select Levi to receive the award for the best British men’s or ladies amateur performance during the season. Levi was winner of the Under 18 Open at Fontainebleau and the Under 18 Junior Open. Greenwood Trophy - Miles Jackson. This trophy is awarded to the most improved men’s, ladies’ professional or amateur player. Miles recorded a vast number of results meaning his handicap reduction has been hard work and effort, effectively halving his handicap (29.5 to 14.7)

Nick was awarded the Renny Trophy as the player making the most progress in the season, notably the winner of the US Open Doubles, British Open Singles semi-finalist, Amateur Singles finalist and Open Doubles finalist.

rom two wheels to four legs

There is a sporting group of Tennis (including a couple from Rackets) players that are founder members of a horse racing partnership called ‘Hazard Chase Racing’. They have purchased a three year-old gelding at Newmarket’s ‘Horses in Training’ sale at Tattersalls and his name is Vexillum. He was trained by Mick Channon in Lambourn where he won two races on the flat and he is now in the same yard as this year’s Champion Hurdle winner Rock on Ruby who is handled by Harry Fry in West Dorset.

The next morning was the big match day and I admit I half expected the Mancunians to be a little ‘out of nick’ but it was clear that they were in fine fettle from the off. They were treating Richard Y-L’s cuts to the corners and his forces to the dedans with no respect and ran out worthy winners. Lunch was taken at Rachels, our adopted seafood restaurant in West Bay, whose scallops are famous. This delicious break was followed by a run to Weymouth where we enjoyed the best Italian Ice Cream from Sr Rossi whose family have been there since 1937. There was only one thing for it then and that was a long ride towards north Dorset and then the most stunning run west again to Bridport via Minterne Magna and the timeless Roman Hill Fort, Eggardon Hill, as the sun went down. This was followed by a most convivial evening which was necessary as Ian, Bob and Richard left early for Manchester by the Severn Bridge into Wales and another 350 miles and a good few chocolate cream eggs to keep the energy up. It was a marvellous weekend - many thanks to all. Please remember, any T&RA members who are motorcyclists who might like to join us or has an idea for a bit of biking and tennis, please get in touch with me at jt@jtbiz.com – France anyone?

The partnership is hoping that some of the champion’s brilliance will rub off on Vexillum when he has his first outing over hurdles in December. He has been schooled over jumps and is ‘a natural’ according to his trainer who is also very impressed with the fact that the partnership’s Treasurer John (Clipperty) Whiting is spending much of his spare time reading Thoroughbred Owner & Breeder magazine!

&RA Motorcycle Club

The T&RA Motorcycle Club had an early get together to kick the summer off and, like last year, we did not have a full complement but we had a terrific weekend and it was made so much the better by a visit from the Manchester chapter of the T&RAMCC. Richard Yorke-Long (from Towcester), John Whiting (London) and Jamie Turner (no Norman Hyde this time) met up on the Friday in Coombe Bissett which is just south of Salisbury. We were going to go to the Bovingdon Tank Museum but decided to go to the pub instead! The next day, Saturday, we went to Street where we met up with a team from Manchester. As we drove into the garage car park, we were confronted by three large gleaming bikes made up of two BMW’s and a Yamaha whose owners turned out to be Ian Crawford, Bob Howe and Richard Dyson. These three had ridden down from Manchester the interesting way which was through Wales. This, of course, makes sense when you consider that Wales has wonderful sweeping roads and the only alternative is the M5. We rode the scenic route to Bridport: This means I took them through the longest and prettiest route I could think of to their pub. We enjoyed some much needed refreshment (Doombar) and went on to dinner.

orpse on Court A novel by Simon Brett

The genteel game of Real Tennis takes a murderous twist in Simon Brett's witty and entertaining new Fethering mystery.

nique Christmas Cards

Real Tennis Christmas Cards in support of the Dedanists’ Society. For more info please email angusdavidwilliams@yahoo.co.uk

&RA Passport

New T&RA Passport Scheme. As a T&RA member, play any court in the country* without paying the guest fee (max 4 times a year per club). See our fantastic new poster below designed by Tory Wall promoting this new scheme. *conditions apply

imited Edition Tennis Court Prints

Fantastic modern prints of Real Tennis courts in use in the UK up for sale. Only 250 available, framed or unframed. £10 from each sale is donated to Junior Real Tennis. Don’t miss out, email torywall@hotmail.com for more info.

&RA New Membership Deal

Brand new deals and discounts to encourage new membership This year we are offering a substantial discount in the first year for all new members. We are offering 40 per cent off this year's subscription to encourage players to join. This is the equivalent of £22 per full member, that joins and signs up to direct debit. The T&RA are also going to give a further 30% of the subscription back to their primary club; which per full member works out as £16.50. New members will also receive a much desired T&RA sports towel. If you are a new member and have joined since August 1st 2012, then we are honouring the benefits of this scheme, on the basis that you have joined & filled in a DD form for future payment. If you are already a cash paying member and feel like you are missing out, sign up to DD and receive £10 off your next subscription. For more information contact our membership secretary, Claire Vigrass, at membership@tennisandrackets.com