After a hiatus of 3 years, the Newman Collard Tennis Club Championships returned in 2022, with Finals Day played on a glorious late summer’s day, Sunday 25th September.
Singles
First on court was the Men’s & Ladies Singles Finals, alongside the Ladies Plate. Court 3 saw an epic battle between two talented young ladies, with several games going to deuce. Emerging victorious was Maddy Burnett, 6-4 6-3, against Harriet Kingsford. On court 2, Sarah Cray was playing in her first Ladies Singles Final, against current holder, Lynda Woollerson. On the day, Sarah fell victim to a heavy cold she had been suffering with all week. Being the superstar she is, Lynda agreed for the match to be rescheduled. Following suit from their Ladies counterparts, this too was an immense match, and gave Sarah her maiden title, with a 6-3 6-3 victory. Final debutant Craig Hardman knew that he would need to be on his top game to stay with the winner of the last few Men’s titles, Andy Gray. Andy’s consistency and continued brilliance saw him win 6-0 6-3, with Craig emerging with huge credit from the match.
Doubles
The Ladies Doubles saw Tamsin Graveson and Harriet pair up, against Lynda and Liz Whiteside. The former pair stormed to victory, winning 6-0 6-3. Tamsin matched up with Tim Selby in the Mixed Doubles, versus Liz and David Parkinson, and they played to a ‘T’, winning 6-1 6-4. The Men’s Plate saw the days longest match, and a topsy turvy encounter, Harry Armstrong taking the first set 7-5, Mark Gentry the second by the same scoreline, before Mark took the trophy with a 6-4 final set. And to conclude the days proceedings, Ben Marshall, playing in another Men’s Doubles Final, this time with Craig, against Andy & Ben Love, was again sadly the bridesmaid , losing 6-4 6-2. Huge thanks to all those that provided refreshments on the day, and how lovely to see so many past and previous members visiting the clubhouse during the afternoon.
Plans for 2023
Next summer, the club plans to introduce further classifications, to enable the finals day schedule to be even bigger. These include plate competitions for all doubles, and an additional over 60’s doubles tournament.
Finals Day 2022 Results
Ladies Singles: Sarah Cray beat Lynda Woollerson 6-3 6-3
Men’s Singles: Andy Gray beat Craig Hardman 6-0 6-3
Ladies Plate: Maddy Burnett beat Harriet Kingsford 6-4 6-3
Men’s Plate: Mark Gentry beat Harry Armstrong 5-7 7-5 6-4
Ladies Doubles: Harriet K & Tamsin G beat Lynda W & Liz W 6-0 6-3
Men’s Doubles: Andy G & Ben L beat Craig H & Ben M 6-4 6-2
Mixed Doubles: Tim S & Tamsin G beat Liz W & David P 6-1 6-4