Bordeaux - update November 2020
Real Tennis in Bordeaux
‘Team Radley +’, comprising Chris Ronaldson, Maggie Henderson-Tew, Mike and Henry Henman, and Florent Brethon, helped at various times by Benedict Yorston
and Lea Van Der Zwalmen, opened the Jeu de Paume de Bordeaux as soon as play was allowed at the end of June 2020. CJR gifted the club over 120 tennis
balls he had made and he and the team worked pro bono, remitting all revenues, including lesson and court fees, to the club.
Members of the previous Merignac court (some of whom hadn’t played the game for six years) had the opportunity to renew their passion and visitors came
from all over France, and beyond, to play. Despite temperatures that reached 42C on court in August, and the understandable difficulty, in such conditions,
of enticing many people to try to the game for the first time, the court was busy for up to seven hours play each day. Covid-19 restrictions and the
imposing of quarantine from France into the UK led to the group dispersing before the arrival of Nick Howell as the permanent Head Pro (his first such
appointment), but not before ‘Team Radley +’ had become very fond of the court and the way that it played.
It was a cruel blow for Nick that only a few days after arriving in Bordeaux from Newport in mid-September, the court was closed, along with all indoor
sport facilities. LVDZ has an internship at EDF in Bordeaux and she and Nick continue to practice, so the court is getting some regular use.
The latest prediction is that the court will be able to re-open for general play in early 2021. Please direct any enquiries to the Club President, Paul Van Der Linden, at paume.bordeaux@gmail.com or to Nick Howell at the court number +33 9 73 17 74 41.