24 players (12 ladies and 12 men) participated in the Bank Holiday American Tournament yesterday, ideal numbers in some respects, since it meant that all courts were in action throughout the afternoon. Heatwave conditions, however, meant that as everyone had to play in every round, there were some very hot and tired people at the end of the six rounds. A delicious afternoon tea, prepared by Debra Norton, Linda Robson and Ann Hanson, did provide some very welcome respite at the midway point. At the end of it all, Alison Jamieson and up and coming young newcomer Andy McElligott were the clear and deserving winners, both amassing 5 more games than their nearest rivals. Next American Tournament is Monday 28th May.

PS from Katherine. William, who provided the text of this post wasn’t quite right when he said we had the ideal number of people available. We had 25, as William would have like to play but as the organiser he gallantly stepped aside.
And another PS : Yes, Andy is very tall!

Seven pairs contested the Mens’ Smiths Cup on Sunday 15th April. Each pair played everyone else in a round robin format, based on rule changes which were trialled at the ATP Next Gen Finals in Milan last November. These included short sets of first to 4 games, with a tiebreak at 4-all, sudden death at deuce and no let on serves. This made for a fast and furious pace throughout the afternoon. Mark Hill and John Jillings emerged as worthy winners, winning all of their six matches, just edging out father and son combination William and James Carlisle, whose only defeat of the afternoon was a closely-fought 5-3 loss to Mark and John.

The group photo was taken before play

24 players (16 men and 8 ladies) turned out for the Albany Trophy, the last American Tournament of the summer, so all six courts were in action throughout the afternoon. Glorious weather conditions, good tennis and a fabulous tea, with Joan Jones’s raspberry pavlova deserving of special mention (the raspberries were homegrown and freshly-picked). The handicap format had the desired effect of keeping most matches fairly even. Ailsa Fraser emerged as winner of the ladies’ section and Johnny Rowland won the mens’ section, both amassing a total of 32 games in the course of their six matches. Johnny Rowland also won this event last year, so well done to him for successfully defending.