Such is the quality of tournament tennis available, the majority of our Juniors have spent the Summer holidays competing at such diverse venues as Bury, Framlingham, Frinton, Lowestoft, Cambridge and Felixstowe, taking on the best players from the region and beyond. The circuit now finishes with the traditional nationwide Junior Closed Championships next week, when the pecking order is established as they battle for superiority against each other.
The usual healthy entry of 110 players from all corners of the county will converge at Henley Road as usual, with both the indoor and outdoor courts being used to get through the busy programme of matches. The Singles competitions range from the 8Us to the 21Us, with plenty of Doubles matches and Consolation Singles events to provide the players with lots of activity throughout what is always a hard-fought and keenly contested week’s tennis.
Framlingham 16U Champion Robert Camplin is the favourite in the Boys’ 18U Singles, though will need to be at his best against the likes of old rivals Rohan Abel, Darren Kappala-Ramsamy and Ryan Lambert, Lambert the 18U runner-up to the talented Jack Thorndike at Felixstowe the week before last, and the 16U winner with a comfortable deciding match victory over Henry Patten. Paul Midgley heads the 16U list at Henley Road, and should take all the beating.
The highly talented duo of Myles Orton and Matt Kirby are understandably absent from this year’s Closed, and both continue to make strides as they compete at a higher level. Myles Orton reached the quarter-finals at Sutton recently in the Aegon British Tour event , going down to top seed Josh Goodall, whilst Matt Kirby did well in both Singles and Doubles in an ITF Grade 4 event held in Poznan, Poland. We will follow their future progress withy great interest.
Talented all-round sportsman Max Darrington has made a fine return to competitive tennis this year, beating Ben Jones to capture the Boys’ 14U Singles title at Felixstowe. Max is seeded 2nd in the Closed behind national champion Toby Cutting, with Ben Jones and Culford’s William Cooke-Wharton also featuring in a draw of really top quality. Cooke-Wharton beat Jonathan Simmonds in the 12U decider at Felixstowe, and these two head the list once again in the Closed.
The Sports Club Performance players will certainly take all the beating in both the Boys’ and Girls’ Singles events, Kitty McWhirter the favourite in both the 18U and 16U Girls’ Singles categories. Her club colleague and rival Ella Monsey, the Felixstowe 16U champion, is sure to be challenging all the way, and she will be keen to avenge her 5-7 2-6 Felixstowe defeat to Hannah Vickers in the 14U category. Felixstowe 12U champion Nia Braidford will be expected to continue her run of success in both the 14U and 12U Girls’ Singles events.
The Red (8U) and Orange (9U) mini tennis singles tournaments are scheduled for the Wednesday, with the 10U Green event taking place on Thursday. The majority of other finals will be held on Friday September 2nd, weather permitting, and local tennis enthusiasts are strongly urged to pop up to the Sports Club during the week, and see the tremendous array of talent which Suffolk now boasts at all levels. Catering is available, and the Bar will be open, so come and enjoy !
It’s back to school for our Juniors once the Closed is over, the Seniors enjoying their swansong with the Suffolk LTA Inter-Club Doubles event at Felixstowe on Sunday 4th. Although this prestigious event has sadly not attracted the hoped for entries, the Clubs involved always enjoy a great day’s tennis, especially if the sun is shining at Bath Road, with the hosts defending the Men’s title and the Ipswich Sports Club eager to hold on to their Ladies’ crown.
Gordon Blake, so cruelly denied the opportunity to referee his 32nd and final Framlingham Tournament due to ill health, would normally have been in charge at both the Junior Closed and the Inter-Club Doubles to follow. However, followers of Suffolk tennis will be delighted to know that Gordon continues to make good progress, and hopefully it will not be long before he is back on his feet again. We all wish him continued improvement in the weeks ahead.