The Birmingham Singles League completed another successful season with league competition across 7 divisions comprising 55 players (43 Men & 12 Ladies) and several cup competitions.
There were 5 men’s divisions, 1 ladies division and a mixed division for latecomers to the league with knockout cup competitions running in parallel which culminated in a Final’s Day and division winner presentations at Hall Green Tennis Club on Sunday 30 September.
The winers of each division were as follows:-
Division 1- Ben Watkins
Division 2- Simon Neville
Division 3- Julien Prosnier
Division 4- Rick Steeds
Division 5- Qaseem Butt
Ladies Division 1- Jade Ralph
Mixed Division- Lee Forrest
The Knockout Final results were as follows:
Men`s Knockout: Ben Watkins beat Richard Moore 6-0, 6-1
Men`s Consolation Knockout: Mike Bloomer beat Ian James 6-2, 6-3
Ladies Knockout: Jade Ralph beat Emma Fitch 6-1, 3-6, 6-4
The Ladies Consolation Final between Niki Gregory and Angela Warmington was played at a later date with Niki coming out victorious 6-2, 7-6.
Now, the Winter season is upon us and has started with the current entry number being 74 players (7 Men’s & 2 Ladies Divisions).
The League is still welcoming late entrants, in particular, from lady players!
Below are is a brief summary of the season:
Division 1
Ben Watkins retained his title and completed the double winning the Knockout Final against Richard Moore on Finals Day. Mark Dennis finished 2nd with Richard Moore just behind in 3rd. It was a close Relegation battle at the bottom of the table but a loss of form meant Adam Soares would start in Division 2 the following season. Unfortunately James Flynn had to withdraw from the league with no fixtures played. Below are the final standings for Division 1.
Division 2
Simon Neville took the early lead in Division 2 and eventually prevailed as Division 2 champion gaining promotion to Division 1 this winter alongside the Runner-up Mike Bloomer to Division 1. Mike Bloomer also had success in the Consolation Knockout by beating a fellow Division 2 opponent Ian James in the Final. At the other end of the table there was a close battle to avoid the drop which ultimately ended with both of the organisers Relegated to Division 3!
Division 3
Julien Prosnier was the winner of Division 3 with Ben Sandford-Smith only gaining second spot by the thinnest of margins. It was a dramatic final day of the season as John Dowdeswell had the chance to be promoted as champion but fell at the final hurdle losing 6-4, 6-4 to Nils Krone which cost him the title and promotion! At the other end of the table there was a close battle to avoid Relegation with James Allen and Andy Carter only separated on sets difference to decide the second Relegation place. Below are the final standings for Division 3.
Division 4
Rick Steeds won Division 4 and gained promotion alongside Runner-up Mark Cowley to Division 3 this Winter. At the other end of the table there was a close battle to avoid Relegation with Dan Stevens and Bashir Ahmed being the casualties. Most matches were played but unfortunately, a number of players suffered from injuries causing a number of matches to fall by the wayside. Below are the final standings for Division 4.
Division 5
Qaseem Butt won Division 5 and was promoted alongside the Runner-up Steve Watson. Qaseem was the clear winner and won most matches comfortably but was pushed a little against King and Sproson, both players who looked like a threat but who ended up having mixed results against each other and Steve Watson thereby making up the 'top-4' grouping.
Hanif and Burley also had a good tussle but Burley ended up victorious and ended the season with a respectable 16 points in 5th position.
At the other end of the table John Cowan unfortunately had to withdraw due to injury and Patrick Folan went awol!!
Most matches were played with only fixtures against Cowan and Folan remaining outstanding.
Division 6 – Ladies Division 1
Jade Ralph won the (Ladies) Division 6 and Emma Fitch clinched the Runner-up position with both of them also battling it out in the cup in a tense 3-setter with Jade ending up doing the double.
Unfortunately Pauline Naughton suffered injury mid-way through the season and may have been another contender in the title race, or at least, for a place in the cup final but injuries mean some of her fixtures went by the wayside.
Most matches were played with only Anna Matthews’ and Pauline's fixture remaining the outstanding one.
Mixed Division
Lee Forrest won the mixed Division 7 with Runner-up Harriet Mactinosh only just missing out on the title.
Noticeably, Peter Drake was just behind them with the competition being such that the players in the top 3 positions all had beaten one of the others by the end of the season.
However, Peter had a tough-ish route to 3rd position with tough 3-setters against Julie Thomas and Bushra Al-Duri who pushed him all the way.
There were several other interesting results too with Diane Bean and Julie Thomas having another tough 3-setter and Bushra seeming to give a good game against Harriet gaining 4 and 3 in both sets.
Thanks to all of you and we hope you enjoyed your matches.