During weekend 9/10 May our U10 teams were competing in the group stages of LTA County Cup.
The Boys were playing in Buckinghamshire. The team had won Lionel Cox the weekend prior so hopes were high ahead of this event.
The squad was Henry at 1, Oli at 2, Aksel at 3, Ben at 4 and Barnaby at 5. Our first fixture was against Suffolk and after some fantastic tennis with the sun shining we went 4:0 up after singles. Oli and Ben played together in the doubles as a left handed duo and Henry and Aksel played as the number 1 pair. Both pairs won their matches in straight sets settling the score against Suffolk as 6:0.
Next up was Bedfordshire. The singles nominations stayed the same and again the boys showed a very professional attitude winning these matches in straight sets and putting us 4:0 up ahead of the doubles. This is where Barnaby made his debut for the weekend playing with Henry and I have never seen a debut quite like it! The lefty duo of Oli and Ben played some brilliant doubles for the second time that day securing both of the doubles matches. The final score against Bedfordshire was 6:0.
On the last day we played Essex on a very windy and cold day so conditions were difficult. At number 4, Ben didn’t let the conditions affect him and put in a brilliant shift winning comfortably what could have been a very difficult match. Aksel at 3 had a very close battle but managed to win in straight sets. Oli was able to win in 2 set tiebreaks 4:3 4:3 and Henry showed a calm and collected performance at 1. Into the doubles Henry and Barnaby played at 2 showing great character and only dropping 1 game and Oli and Aksel played at 1 and while responding to great feedback clawed back a second set in a tiebreak and won the match tiebreak settling the fixture score as 6:0.
Overall the boys won the event without dropping a match in any of the fixtures. Super proud of them and this means we are now off to the national finals!
Ben, Aksel, Barnaby (Capt), Henry and Oli (and mascot ‘Wilson’)
Meanwhile the U10 Girls team were competing at Easton, where the two days couldn’t have been more contrasting.
Day 1 started with a tough match against Middlesex in very hot, sunny and dry conditions on the clay. For a lot of the girls it was their first time on clay so getting used to that was another challenge. The girls fought hard but unfortunately Middlesex were far too strong and we were 4-0 down after singles, Esmee taking her match at number 2 to a match tiebreak.
Next up was Suffolk. After a water of the courts the girls got back on court with Eva coming in for Emily at number 4. Again the girls fought hard but Suffolk were very strong and unfortunately we were down 4-0 after singles with Esmee taking hers to a match tiebreak but not quite being able to get it over the line and losing it 12-10.
On to doubles against both counties. The girls put in good performances and showed some really good qualities in how to play doubles with some good net work but couldn’t take any sets so ended up being 6-0 against both counties overall.
Sunday saw a dramatic change in the weather. It was cold, overcast and windy so challenging conditions to deal with in addition to the clay. We played Bedfordshire in a straight shootout for 3rd/4th place. Emily got the team off to a flying start with a 4-0 4-1 win at 4. Esmee then got a victory at 2 as her opponent had to retire injured. Meanwhile, Anastasia was still in a tight 3 set match which came down to a couple of points and some great tennis, her opponent eventually prevailing 13-11 in the match tiebreak. Ioanna then put in a strong performance at 1 singles to win in a match tiebreak 10-7, meaning a 3-1 and just one doubles win to secure the tie. Esmee and Emily teamed up at 2 doubles for a comfortable straight sets win. While Eva came in to partner Ioanna at 1 doubles. They added the finishing touches to a great day with a solid win to end the day with a 5-1 victory.
The girls learned a lot from the weekend and will take a lot back to work on with their coaches moving forward. It was great to see the girls start to work things out on the court as they were playing on a relatively new surface to them. A great experience for them all
