Team England Boys represented by Reed’s School in Surrey were crowned World Schools Tennis Champions in Doha, Qatar at the weekend.
The boys’ team, consisting of Jack Molloy, Barnaby Smith, Ben Draper, Louis Newman and Damien Rodriguez defeated Chinese Taipei in the final, winning 14 straight points in a row to take the title 4-2 in the best of six matches tie. They had previously finished top of their group, with convincing wins over Chile and Belgium, followed by a close 3-3 draw with Australia. They defeated Germany in the quarter-finals and Turkey in the semi-finals, before defeating Chinese Taipei in the final.
Jack Molloy, who played at No.1 for the boys all week said: “The whole team have really enjoyed the week, playing at such an incredible venue and getting the chance to make so many friends from all over the world has been great, and taking the title was really special.”
Three schools from across Great Britain competed at the prestigious World Schools Tennis Championships in Doha. As well as the gold medal success for the boys, Team England Girls, represented by Talbot Heath School in Bournemouth, finished in an impressive fourth place.
The team, consisting of Jodie Burrage, Lauryn John-Baptiste, Anna Battersby, Ellie Baker and Milly Smythe topped their group and only missed out on a place in the finals by winning one set less than Turkey.
Scotland Boys, represented by Merchiston Castle School from Edinburgh, were making their debut in the competition and the team, consisting of Ewan Moore, who is ranked No.1 in Great Britain at Under 18 level, Cameron Bowie, Chris Edge, Philip Blythe and Douglas MacIntosh, fought hard to finish in sixth place after their play-off match against Germany.
The event, staged by the International School Sport Federation, was hosted by the Qatar Tennis Federation at the Khalifi Tennis Centre. It attracted entries from 16 nations in each category from across the globe, and included a strong educational and cultural element, with opening and closing ceremonies, cultural visits and a focus on friendship and fair play.
The next World Schools Tennis Championships will take place in Brazil in 2017 and Team England will be represented by the winning schools of the Team Tennis Schools National Championships Finals in 2016.
Find out more information about the International School Sport Federation
Find out more information about our Secondary School competitions, so you and your school can be in with a chance of representing Team England in 2017.
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