Members of Millfield Tennis played top-ranked school and college teams in Florida over the Easter break as part of their international tennis tour. 

The team of 17 players challenged high-ranked school Montverde Academy and junior colleges ASA Miami and Eastern Florida State to a round of fixtures, as well as competing against some of the country’s top junior players at the USTA academy. 

Millfield tennis began their tour with training and acclimatising to the hot conditions before challenging Montverde Academy in a close match, winning 14-13. The teams faced off again during the visit, with Millfield again coming away victorious. 

The tour presented the team with the opportunity to play against top players and learn from the experience of high-level tennis. In their fixture against ASA Miami, Upper Sixth Matthew Carroll and Lower Sixth Alexander Hyman were able to beat the 3rd ranked doubles pair in the country. 

During their time at the USTA national facility, the team had the chance to train at the UCF Tennis complex, as well as reconnecting with OM Johnny Parkes, who helped them gain access to the professional area where they got to watch some of the best players in the world train. 

The trip also offered the opportunity to watch, as well as play, high-level tennis, with the group taking in a college match day fixture featuring two of the top teams in the country. They also watched OM Angus Bradshaw compete in a conference match for Stetson University, which the players said was an excellent chance to experience how players from UK schools play tennis and study at American universities.

A trip to Orlando’s Universal Studios concluded a successful tour, and the team plan to apply many of the training and experience to their playing styles back at Millfield.

Written by Millfield Publicity