1. How did it feel to be named the Most Improved Player of the Year? I was extremely pleased and very surprised – especially knowing how many young players in particular there are in the club who have improved so much over the past year, who continue to improve all the time, and who would have been very deserving of the award themselves! It also spurred me on to keep improving as much as I can over the coming year.
2. Was this your first year participating in the club championships? Yes – I joined the club in May 2023 after seeing the advert for an open day on a walk home from the school run and hadn’t yet gotten fully involved at the time the championships took place in 2023. The club championships this year ran over a number of weeks, with the matches (first rounds, quarter finals, etc) taking place in the weeks leading up to finals day. Finals day itself was fantastic, lots of very entertaining finals and exhibition matches took place and lots of members were there to watch and support. It felt like a real celebration of the club, and it was great to be a part of it.
3. How did you find playing in the ladies’ singles final in front of such a big crowd? Very nerve-wracking, but also exciting. Outside of the club championships, I hadn’t competed in sport in front of any sort of crowd for over 20 years! The crowd was very supportive of both players throughout the match which helped settle the nerves quickly. The match itself was fun, competitive, and very tiring - it lasted over 2 hours!
4. You’ve been a key member of the mixed and ladies’ doubles leagues this year. What has your experience of this been like, and would you recommend other members get involved in these matches when availability allows? Definitely – I really enjoy playing in the leagues. It’s a slightly different dynamic from the club ladders (which are also great and strongly recommended to all members to get involved in), and the league matches are always competitive but still friendly between the clubs. Often the home team puts on a spread of food and drink, so both teams sit and have a chat after playing, which is a good way to end a fixture. And I find the more competitive matches you play, the more fun they become.
5. Do you have any personal tennis targets for the next year? Llantwit Ladies are entering two teams for the ladies’ winter doubles league this year and I will be captaining the Llantwit 2 team, which I’m excited about. I’m also looking forward to the ball machine coming to the club. It’ll be a great way to improve consistency, net play, and volleys. I want to improve my all-round game, but particularly serving and footwork, and I will carry on playing in the singles and mixed doubles club ladders and try to work my way up as much as I can!
6. What would you recommend to any new members of the club? I definitely recommend getting involved in the club ladders – there’s a real mixture of abilities and experience within the ladders, and I think everyone should get involved as it’s such a good way to meet and play other members of the club. Also – there are regular social tennis sessions throughout the week which are another great way to meet and play people you may not get to play otherwise!