The summer to date has been a busy one both on and off the court. The first major event was the Club’s Finals’ Day which went ahead very successfully despite a poor weather forecast and provided some excellent tennis for the limited spectators allowed to attend due to Covid restrictions. The following weekend saw the second American Tournament with strawberries and cream. This was well-attended as was the first and gave members the opportunity to play with others who normally go to different sessions.

Many league matches have been played with a good degree of success and much enjoyment for those taking part. Many thanks to all those who have represented the Club and particularly to the Captains who have to juggle players for the different squads. Any members who have not yet signed up for teams please email Gillian (wyatthome@yahoo.co.uk) or Hefin (hefinbowen@hotmail.com).

Court Cleanliness and Front Gates

In the last newsletter, there was a plea for all members to respect others and keep the courts as clean as possible. We now have some resident (and rather bold) mice so this has become even more important. Please could everyone ensure that the courts are left clean and tidy, with balls collected, placed in their bags and returned to their hooks outside the clubhouse. In addition, could you check that no food/wrappers/bottles/other rubbish items are left anywhere on the courts. This also goes for the outside area where dropped edibles are attracting our unwanted visitors!

There was also a reminder in the last newsletter about how to close and lock the front security gates properly so that they don’t jam on the next opening. This can often happen if the gates are slammed shut. If you are the last person to leave, please avoid pulling the gates shut. Instead, re-input the code number and use the handle to close the gates gently. Hopefully, this will mean the gates and lock last a long time!

On a number of occasions, the security gates have been found open first thing in the morning so please could everyone be vigilant in locking the Club securely if they are the last to leave.

Outside areas around the Club

The pathway into the Club was re-laid in early July and we now have very smart, pot-hole free access to the courts with built-in water baths to clean loose clay off members’ shoes! Please could all members ensure that they use these and the rubber matting every time they leave the courts as this will ensure that stray granules of clay don’t make their way down the path and into the clubhouse.

We are delighted to announce that the new Games Area at the front of the club has been completed and, for safety reasons, the area has been covered in Tigermulch, a soft porous surface. So far we have installed an outdoor table tennis table, magnetic darts, hoopla, giant Jenga and Connect 4 and for our youngest members - a playhouse. The intention is to maximise all areas of the club and to provide all our members, young and old, with additional activities to go alongside the tennis that is on offer. This area is open to all to use at any time and we are delighted that some families have already been making use of the games. We would, however, ask that children are supervised at all times when they are in the Games Area or any other part of the Club and please be sensitive to games taking place on Courts 1 and 2. 

Finals Day

Our main Finals Day took place on Sunday 4th July. We enjoyed better weather than had been forecast. Unfortunately, due to Covid restrictions in place on the day, at the last minute, attendance had to be limited to those playing and their guests and so we weren’t able to enjoy our usual famous buffet lunch. We were able, however, to have a formal ceremony opening the new Bar. Peter Temperton, long-standing and now Honorary Member of the Club and donor of the conservatory in which the bar is now housed, very kindly said a few words, followed by a round of drinks for everybody “on the house”. 

So far as the tennis was concerned, it was of an outstanding standard. The Mixed Doubles final was particularly exciting as James Beaven, our 16 year old player who has gone on to the circuit with considerable success this year, and his partner, Niamh Hyde, saved 3 match points in the 2nd set before going on to win in the 3rd. 

All in all, spectators were treated to some thrilling contests. Unusually, honours were spread widely. We decided to play all the finals on the upper 3 artificial clay courts this year and we may well repeat this in the future. The results were:

Open Tournament

Hefin Bowen vs Clifford Stretton 6-3, 6-3

Holly Gale vs Cheryl Agius 6-3 ,6-1

Clifford Stretton/ Simon Mortimer vs Valentin Pusnava/Steve Duke 6-1, 7-5

Cheryl Agius/Ruth Eppey vs Holly Gale/Niamh Hyde 5-7, 7-6, 6-0

Niamh Hyde/James Beaven vs Holly Gale/Clifford Stretton 3-6, 7-6, 6-2

Vets’ Tournament

Nigel Catlow vs Chris Hyde 6-1, 6-1

Lesley Gale vs Shula Payne 2-6, 6-3, retired

Shula Payne/ Lesley Gale vs Janet Catlow/Didi Hyde 6-3, 7-5

Victor Payne/ Mike Smith vs Nigel Catlow/ Paul Hawker 6-3, 6-3

Peter Wyatt/Gillian Wyatt vs Paul Hawker/Ruth Eppey 6-2, 6-4

Social Tennis

Many members have enjoyed playing in the various social sessions run by the Club. On Sunday 22nd August we held the final American Tournament of the summer. Many congratulations to Nigel Catlow and Ann O’Donnell who won! We hope to continue to run these tournaments in the Autumn/Winter so look out for any announcements.

Team news

The Dorking and Leatherhead and Chaucer league matches are now largely complete and the Kingswood teams have enjoyed a good degree of success. We now await confirmation of the final standings of the teams in the various divisions. The Surrey league matches continue into October and so have a way to go. Due to this, we assume that the Surrey winter league will begin later than usual. Nonetheless, we are keen to gauge interest in winter team tennis early so that we can enter the appropriate number of teams. If you are keen to play competitive tennis this winter, please add your name to the document in the link below or email Hefin/Gillian. We would hope to field Sunday morning teams for both Men and Ladies and also midweek open and over 55 (Men)/over 50 (Ladies) teams.

Junior News

The Junior Finals Day on Saturday 27th June was a very successful event and we would like to congratulate all the players who participated. It was extremely well-supported, despite the less than kind weather. 

U18 Girls - Amelie Hartley

U14 Girls - Anna-Li Flynn 

U16 Boys - Nijay Sivarajan

U14 Boys - Alfred Duke

U12 - Jack Harper 

Mini Green - Henry Woodward 

We are currently running our junior summer camps until 27th August. 

From September 7th we will be restarting our Autumn Coaching program.

For any questions, please contact Valentin on coaching.kingswoodltc@gmail.com or 07919453206. 

Social Events

Saturday 16th October at 19.00 – Quiz Night

You can find other social events for later in the year below.