Local tennis fans will be delighted to hear the news that in addition to a re-vamped East of England Tournament after Wimbledon, the Felixstowe Tennis Club will be hosting an Aegon British Tour event at the end of the month. This will in fact be the first grasscourt event, of any category, of the season, and will be staged from Sunday 26th to Friday 3lst May, with the main draw\players in action from Wednesday 29th.
Entries have yet to be finalised, though names that may be well known to followers of British tennis are Richard Bloomfield, Marcus Willis, Anna Fitzpatrick and Anna Smith.
The traditional East of England Championships will not follow Wimbledon as in previous years, but will be run from 14th-20th July. There will be a $10,000 Aegon GB Pro-Series event, but the week will also include a new Veterans’ Tournament. Quite a Summer of tennis at Bath Road, with Suffolk Ladies then competing on home soil in the Aegon County Cup competition from July 2lst-23rd. Spectators will be very welcome at any time, with both catering and bar facilities available as usual.
Our 14 and Under teams both found it tough going recently in the nationwide 14U Aegon County Cup. Our Boys went down to Bedfordshire, Norfolk and Essex, whilst our Girls found it equally tough in Division G at Lincoln. Missing number one Nia Braidford, Georgia Harris, Georgia Davies, Hannah Stokes, Olivia Hine, Florence Kenworthy and Florence McCausland all put up a positive performance, but suffered defeats at the hands of Hertfordshire (0-6), Cambridgeshire (1-5) and Norfolk (1-5).
With half-term not so far away, schools’ tennis in the county is well underway, with a Girls’ Doubles Competition held earlier in the month at Framlingham College. The Division One and Two Girls and Boys Aegon competitions have begun for Year 8 and Under and Year 10 and Under. A magnificent total of 89 teams have entered, with the finals taking place in June. The mini tennis leagues are also well supported, and give a marvellous opportunity for competitive experience for the younger players.
11 teams have entered the mini tennis Premier League, 19 teams the Year 6 and Under Green League, 28 teams the Year 5 and Under Orange League and 27 teams the Year 3 and Under Red League, with the finals also scheduled for June. Participation Mixed tennis events are also being organised across the county for Years 7/8 and Years 3/4 in association with the Suffolk Sports Organisers, with support from the LTA. The Year 7/8 Finals will be held on 9th July at Hartismere High School and organised by Ali Furlong as lead SGO for tennis, with the year 3/4 event part of the Suffolk Schools’ Games Festival at Bury Leisure and King Edward School on 5th July.
At the other end of the spectrum, our Seniors have begun their fixtures in earnest, and we hope to publish their early results in a week or two. Many of these veteran players still compete regularly in the various leagues across the county, with keenly fought inter-club matches still the bread and butter for enthusiasts of all ages and abilities.
Sometime soon we hope to take a closer look at the Ipswich and District League and the Lowestoft League in particular, and I’d be very grateful to hear from any League players with anecdotes of special interest. ( send to : petermornard@aol.com)
Hard to believe that the French Open is almost upon us, and certainly made more interesting by the fact that 7-times champion Rafa Nadal no longer seems to have that air of invincibility about him, persistent injuries sadly beginning to play a\ crucial role.
Clay is certainly not Andy Murray’s surface, and it’s hard to see him adding the French title to his US Open one, though thankfully the grasscourt season and Wimbledon follow on very swiftly, when I can see him improving on his runner’s-up spot.