Annual Tournament 2021 - Finals Day

Wed, 22 Sep 2021 00:00

Finals Day

Annual Tournament 2021

For those of you who couldn’t make it, you missed a celebration of all the best that the Club has to offer! We were blessed with a sun-filled day, as we have been for the last several years, and the standard of tennis was exceptional. The results of the matches are set out below.

Many thanks to Kev Crawford and to Jenny Robson for preparing the clubhouse and the courts, which looked spectacular. It was good to put the new grass strip to use for spectators: by this time next year, we will hopefully have completed the landscaping.

Thanks also to all those who supplied a splendid buffet, from which there were very few leftovers. Richard May carried out his usual Tournament Director role with ease, including dealing with prizes and trophies, and we were pleased to award the May Trophy (kindly donated by Rich’s mother) to Steffi Harrison as The Most Improved Junior.

This year’s Tournament entries were the largest yet, a reflection I think of the general buzz about the Club, despite (or perhaps because of) the horrors of the pandemic. Indeed, we have welcomed several new members during the summer months, who joined too late to enter. Looking forward, we propose to hold to the September finals next year, but with one modification. We propose to hold a seeded plate competition for first round losers in every event, thereby guaranteeing that everyone gets to play a minimum of two matches. In the Men’s Singles, this would replace the two tableaux, thereby easing first round delays.

As to the matches, it was a great day for our members from the RAF. They came away with the Men’s Doubles and the Men’s Singles trophies, and particular congratulations go to Piran Rolls and to Sam Elliott, who both played a total of eight sets. Not to be outdone, Heather Harrison played seven sets, and Sue Butcher five sets, contesting a close Ladies Singles, where Sue triumphed. A lot of tennis on a hot day, with a particularly well contested Mixed Doubles where Piran & Sue fought off a spirited comeback by Sam & Heather, 6-3 6-7 7-6, spurred on by the largest audience of the day. Celebrations/commiserations continued well into the early hours of Sunday morning for certain Committee members….

Several juniors also acquitted themselves very well, with Henry May triumphing in both Under 16’s Singles and Doubles, and Marcus Shaw leading the way in both Under 12’s finals. The future of the Club is in good hands!

Below are some photos taken by Damian Gange. It was great to see him looking well and talking his usual good game: we very much look forward to his continued recovery, and resumption of the adult coaching reins. More photos will appear on the website and on Facebook.

Adrian Hatt
Chairman CTC
21st September 2021

Roll of Honour

Under 8’s. Winner(W): Alfie Baskeyfield. Runner-up (RU): Mai McCaw

Under 10’s. W. Kai McCaw. RU. Jonathan Brett

Under 12’s Singles. W. Marcus Shaw. RU. Jake Reeves

Under 12’s Doubles. W. Joseph Shaw & Marcus Shaw. RU. Jake Reeves & Sam Collett

Under 16’s Singles. W. Henry May. RU. Rory Leslie

Under 16’s Doubles. W Henry May & Rory Leslie. RU. Ben Pocock & James Singh

Ladies Singles. W. Sue Butcher. RU. Heather Harrison

Ladies Doubles. W. Debbie Langley & Pauline Loilier. RU. Heather Harrison & Steffi Harrison

Men’s Singles 1st Tableau. W. Piran Rolls. RU. Sam Elliott

Men’s Singles 2nd Tableau. W. Andrew Morrison. RU. Harry Day