Blog

(A Little Bit) Better Than The Last Gallery [2nd November 2023]

Posted on by DPKSites

It is not every day that a new Real Tennis court is revealed to the world, but this is one of those days. A perfect reason for issuing a special November addition to the seasonal Radley College newsletter. We also have splendid news of club members’ recent success on court to share with you. Happy days!

Chase The First, the excellent monthly newsletter of the US Court Tennis Association, enters its 13th year of production and its 145th issue (we salute you, Jane Lippincott!) with the splendid news of the completion of the court at Sand Valley, Wisconsin: ‘American Court Tennis has its newest venue – this one at a resort more well-known for another royal ancient game. Brothers Michael and Chris Keiser have completed the country’s 11th court, the centerpiece of a sparkling new Tennis Center that features dining, a pro shop, locker rooms and 15 outdoor grass courts.

“We are so excited to introduce our guests – and fans of golf and racquets in general – to the game and this new court,” Michael Keiser said. It’s such a wonderful pairing with the traditions and history of golf. My brother and I grew up playing all racquet sports, and it’s an honor to promote the one that started it all.”

Court Tennis, including lessons and equipment, will be available at Sand Valley starting next spring.’

The new tennis court, resplendent and ready for play, pays due homage to the traditional black walls and red floor familiar to so many players but also displays more than a passing nod to the superb year-old court at Westwood, with its viewing areas and off-court configuration, In fact, we believe that viewing from above the play line above the penthouses is actually more extensive than at Westwood, running well into the hazard side of the court. The glazing in the clerestory and the roof structure add elements of extra architectural excitement as well as height above the court. Will balls hit over the cross-supports be ‘in’ or ’out’, we wonder? Precedents exist for both options. Whether there will be decoration in the grille, at the top of the gallery and service lines and elsewhere on the court is not yet known, but if it appears in due course, our money is on mammoths. Who doesn’t love a mammoth?

Congratulations to the Keiser brothers and to the construction team for producing this stunning court, which we can’t wait to visit!

Congratulations also to those Radley members who performed so well in the National Inter-Club Team Tournament last weekend, which was held at the Leamington and Moreton Morrell courts. Radley’s David Harris won the Singles competition and Radley’s Nick Gordon won the Doubles, teaming up with Ian Falconer from Lord’s. In the team event, Scotland (whose home court for tournament purposes is Radley) won the Team Competition, being represented by Nick Gordon & Ian Falconer with Dan Worboys from Prested. Radley finished third and Andrew Leslau & Tim Roberts joined David Harris to compete the side. This year, the entry included teams from clubs, schools, countries and professions. It was a hugely enjoyable event and not just for those who were awarded as many trophies and as much champagne as they could lift, like Ian and Nick below:

And morecongratulations are due, this time to Radley’s Mike Henman won the Oxford Club Championship last month, a year after his son, Henry, won it.  Are there other examples, we wonder, of a father having followed a son to win such a competion before? Henry was considered to be too strong a player to enter the tournament this year and so joins the likes of Roman Krznaric who sits it out, year after year; quite an acolade. No photo of the players has just found it way to me yet, after Mike’s tighter-than-tight 6-4, 4-6, 6-5 win over Geoff Baker, but I imagine there was a large pile of laundry to take home!  If you have ever seen Mike play, you will know what I mean, as the duration of his matches is often counted in shirts rather than sets.

On Friday this week (tomorrow), the Division V Radley team of Mike Henman and Paul Bollerman (the Dutch Open Champion of the past two years), will be playing a National League match at Radley against our friends, but in this case, rivals, from Bristol. There will be two singles and a doubles rubber, starting at 6pm, and there will be wine and cheese served for a modest charge.  Please come and support our players, who love to put on a show.  You will be most welcome and we look forward to seeing you there!

Radley Juniors’ Success

Posted on by DPKSites

Last weekend saw the British Junior Doubles Championships played at Holyport, played in the age categories of U15 and U19. 

The U15s was a splendid event for Radleians, as College boys came first, second and third from a total of nine entries. The Cordle brothers, Edward and William, beat Kit Kingsbury and Wilbur Hunter in the final. The Barnes twins, Austin and Jerome, completed the podium. What a tremendous performance from these three pairs, who should improve ever further from this point.

The U19s event, contested by ten pairs, had its own share of glory for Radley, with our players making it to the final. Henry Henman, still only 16 years old, and Laszlo Garson, current holder of the U14 and U16 British Singles titles and just 14, had to face the Junior Singles World Champion, Max Trueman, and his partner, James Medlow, who have won the tournament for the past two years. 

Henry and Laszo played very well but the older players had too much fire power and took the title 6-2, 6-2.  Max and James are the first pair ever to have won the title three times and it is a fitting conclusion to their outstanding careers as Juniors. They stand below, holding their trophies,  between Laszlo (happier on the inside than he looks on the outside, we are assured by his father, Jeremy, whom we thank for the photo) on the left and Henry on the right. 

Congratulations to all involved, and particularly to those from Club and College who carried the flag for Radley. They have made us extremely proud, on and off the court. 

A mini-Newsletter

Posted on by DPKSites

Almost Spring 2023

A Radley Update

The T&RA

Most active players at Radley are also members of the Tennis and Rackets Association.  Please do consider joining if you have not already done so.  In addition to supporting the wider game in Britain, it gives you access to the booking sheet at Radley, so that you no longer have to appear on that sheet as ‘guest’.

If you follow the link …..

Join the T&RA | Tennis & Rackets Association (tennisandrackets.com)

….. there are a number of options on the fourth page.  While we would recommend full membership, giving you a wide range of benefits, all you need is ‘Associate’ to access the booking sheet.


Club Pro News

Having spent over seven weeks working long hours and spending little time away from the court (just the way he likes it, of course) Chris is off for a fortnight’s break. Welcome back to Nino, who spent five weeks in Australia, but is over his jet-lag and back in harness.

Nino set off for the Australian Open with firm resolve to do his best-ever, but the draw was cruel to the man who had travelled round the world to get there. His first-round draw was against Chris Chapman, the number one seed and eventual winner of the title. Poor Nino was not much luckier in his draw for the Doubles, and he and partner Lewis Williams (Head Pro at Leamington) lost in straight sets to Levi Gale and the top Australian amateur, Kieran Booth, in the first round. Onwards and upwards… The US Open is Nino’s next tournament in a week’s time and we wish him good luck and kinder first round draws. 

Changes on Court

There is high-tech and there is low-tech, but we have favoured an entirely manual, no-tech solution in response to some members’ request for a scoring aid. It may be simple and not aesthetically very pleasing, but it seems to do the job.

Game Board Mark 2 has additional, coloured magnets to count sets. An abacus would be better, probably. There is no telling what heights of sophistication and ingenuity will be reached by Game Board Mark 3, which is still at early design stage.

An altogether more beautiful addition to the fittings of the court is a gong in the Winning Gallery. This is a Prince’s Club-crested gift from our friends at the Westwood Court, as they have a fine new one and so have kindly given us the old gong from the now-closed Washington court.  This was a ‘thank-you’ to CJR and MH-T for helping with the court opening last year.

Changes Off Court

It has been decided that the second water fountain, down by the court, really should not be there at all. It has been well used and we know it will be missed by some. Rather than using bottled water and paper cups, and the van, fuel and man hours needed to supply them, we feel we ought to revert to using only the water fountain in the club room.  It filters and chills tap water perfectly well, and so, when the current bottles of Blenheim Water run out, they won’t be replaced.

Members and guests are reminded to bring their own water bottle with them and to fill it before going on court.

Competition Action

Juniors

The National Inter-Schools Doubles Championships 2023

These championships are played in groups according to age and standard, with the A and B Grade U18s, U16s and the U15s all played on 5 February at Queens, the Oratory and Radley respectively.

There has already been considerable success for Radley College pupils and club members.  Finalists of the U18 category were Henry Henman and George Lythgoe (representing Magdalen College School) and Radley’s Hugo Acheson-Gray and Ambrose Garson, who were one of the five Radley College pairs taking part, which was more than any other school. 


In the U16 category, played at Radley, the Radley College pair of Mikolaj Rutka and Theo Henman appeared in their first Final, but were beaten by the duo from Wellington, Algie Nottingham and Seb Edwards.


The U13s was played at The Oratory, with teams from Westbourne House, Summerfields, the Oratory and OPS taking part and was won by Summerfields, represented by young Bewes and our own Laszlo Garson.  

Seniors

The British Amateur, which started in 1888, has historically been one of the most hotly contested titles and prestigious titles. Old Radleian Julian Snow’s record haul of 20 Singles titles stands as an impressive example of the sustained quality of his match play over decades. It is extraordinary that Julian was the Runner-up as little as 10 years ago, having first done the same in 1986.

The tournament runs from 11-19 of February and live streaming and archive footage can be found on the T&RA’s YouTube channel.  Live coverage of the first Singles Semi Final, which starts at 6pm on Thursday 16 February can be found here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ta6qS7A7Io4. 

That is all for now, but there is more, MUCH MORE, to come in March!

Maggie

Club Captain