Author: Gillian Sanderson

Excellent tennis at our Club Championship Finals Day. Well done to all players who reached finals and congratulations to the winners! The Ladies Singles title went to Chrissie Christou, the first time Chrissie has won the event, whilst Dan Thrale took the Mens Singles title for the eighth time in thirteen years as a club member.  Dan & Gill Sanderson retained the Mixed Open title for the third consecutive year.  The full draw and results in each event can be viewed on the LTA Tournament Software.  Great to see so many spectators at the club watching the finals. Thanks to Mark & Dan Eldridge for serving in the kitchen all day and thanks to Angela for looking after the bar. And of course thanks to Steve for organising the tournaments so efficiently as usual.

Another enjoyable social event at the club for social tennis and Mexican style supper afterwards. A delicious spread of food provided by Ashley thank you!

Another Penzance Open is over. An amazing job done by Steve refereeing the tournament in challenging weather conditions and with an increased number of entries. Took it all in his stride as usual! In gale force winds on finals day, Gill with partner Bryn (Penzance) gave it their aĺl but lost in the final of the Ladies 55 & over Doubles event but John & Tom were victorious in their Mens Handicap Doubles final. Congratulations to them and thanks to all members who travelled to Penzance to take part this year.

Congratulations to club member, Sarah Ball, who competed at the 2023 Federation of International Racketlon World Championships in Rotterdam and won gold in the Women’s +55 Singles to become a WORLD CHAMPION!!  Racketlon involves playing four racket sports against each opponent to 21 points.  Badminton, squash, table tennis and tennis.  Sarah competed in a round robin event beating three opponents to secure top spot!

The Leigh & Westcliff Summer leagues are now over. An excellent season for all our teams! Our Mixed 2 team won Division 2 of the Mixed League, whilst Mixed 4 also took top spot in Division 5. Mixed 1 came 4th in Division 1, Mixed 3 were runners up in Division 4 and Mixed 5 came 5th in Division 5. In the Mens League, our Mens 2 team won Division 3 and will be promoted next summer. Mens 1 fought hard and retained their Division 1 status, whilst Mens 3 and 4 were 5th and 3rd in their respective divisions. Finally, in the Ladies League, our Ladies 4 team are champions of Division 4. Ladies 1 and 3 both finished 4th in their divisions, whilst Ladies 2 were very unlucky to miss out on top spot in Division 2 by just one point. Thanks to all our team captains for their hard work over the ten week season and well done to all players involved.

Fantastic achievement Dan! 29 sets played over 13.5 hours from 8.00am until 9.30pm.  Part of the “Patrick Challenge” to raise money for the Stroke Association, after Dan’s father/club member Pat suffered a severe stroke last year. Dan’s tennis marathon followed on from completion of an Ironman event out in Austria.  Thanks to everyone involved in helping to make the day a huge success. Too many people to list but as well as 39 players on court with Dan, members helped ensure that refreshments were available throughout the day and all profit has gone to Dan along with all the donations generously made on the day.

Have a close look at the names on this. Two of our members Bill and Mark are included! Many thanks for all your hard work at the club ensuring our clubhouse, courts and grounds are always at their best for members to enjoy. Definitely brilliant volunteers!

Excellent quiz night at the club thanks to quizmaster Bez. Five teams tackled some tough multimedia questions over 10 rounds, with each round ending on an optional “double or lose your points by answering” question!  Congratulations to the winning team pictured with their prizes and commiserations to the smallest team who did admirably to amass a very respectable total! Many thanks again to Bez, also Carol who helped with scoring, Angela and Karen who looked after the bar, and everyone who supported the event.

Excellent day at the club for this year’s Captain’s Day. We couldn’t have been luckier with the weather! The day started with free sessions at club coaching morning and the chance for everyone there to meet new Head Coach Oli who is taking over the Saturday morning programme from next weekend. Thanks to Martin for leading the sessions today and to Steve, Sarah Ball and Karen for helping him with the different groups. Sarah O’Sullivan kindly provided delicious bacon rolls and a variety of toasted sandwiches and paninis over lunchtime. Many thanks to Sarah for her hard work in a very hot kitchen and to Andrea for her assistance. Afternoon social tennis and the chance to win a prize for every set won attracted a big turnout with all nine courts in use and players waiting. Thanks to Steve for organising the tennis and his generosity providing all the prizes as well as free tea and cakes for both players and spectators later in the afternoon. Linda was honoured to partner our new coach Oli in his first game at the club and when they came in to draw their prizes, Linda won a free lesson with him! Thanks also to Hazel and Glynis for serving all the tea and cakes and to Angela for looking after the bar. A great day all round!