Real Tennis National Open Event 2025 Report
The first-ever Real Tennis National Open Event was a fantastic success, with early estimates showing close to 600 prospective new players having attended events across the country.
At the beginning of October, the Tennis and Rackets Association launched the inaugural Real Tennis National Open Event, which aimed to introduce new players to the sport by bringing every club across the country together to showcase our great game.
From 2nd to 5th October, UK clubs hosted a variety of activities such as Professional-led introductory lessons, unique matches, exhibitions, on-court workshops and drinks receptions to entice new players to try Real Tennis. We are happy to report that the event was a resounding success, with initial indications showing that close to 600 people (all prospective new players) attended one event or another over the weekend.
Cambridge University Real Tennis Club hosted the opening event, which saw more than 100 students participate in a rolling all-day match that was watched by T&RA Patron, HRH The Duke of Edinburgh, as well as a TV crew from ITV.
The Duke was welcomed by CURTC President, Dr Victoria Harvey, and met representatives from the T&RA, including Chairman Richard Compton-Burnett, CEO Chris Davies and National Event Coordinator Nick Brodie. He also met students, alumni and professionals taking part in the tournament before enjoying the opening Division 1 match.
(More photos available in the gallery located on the upper righthand side of this page.)
Similar successes were reported at clubs across the country, including Hatfield, which saw a fantastic turnout of 24 talented participants (including four juniors) on court, as well as many members of the public popping in throughout the day to watch the action and pick up a flyer. Several of the day’s participants booked in for further one-on-one lessons, with Pro James Law sharing, “The Open Day was a fantastic initiative and having the T&RA backing and funding the event has really helped us focus to drive the recruitment process at the club. It's fantastic to feel supported by our governing body and we promoted that heavily to our membership and those involved who felt they weren’t just having a go at a standalone court but joining a community, so thank you so much for supporting us in putting on the event.”
Manchester is thrilled to report that they had 24 non-members participate in clinics over the weekend, while Wellington managed to get 20 members and five guests attend just the first evening alone, which featured a friendly exhibition match as well as a Q&A with Peter Luck-Hille, who helped build the court at Wellington and recently released a book about his connection to the game.
Seacourt is happy to share that over 40 people attended its National Open event, which started off with fun junior activities coached by Head Pro Drew Lyons, followed by an exhibition match with Seacourt’s top players (Will Flynn, Tom Weaver, Richard Smith and Drew Lyons) and an afternoon of “Have a Go” sessions. The club enthuses that it even managed to convince eight pickleball players to come back for the club’s second National Open session being held later this month.
Twenty new participants were introduced to the game at Canford over the course of their National Open weekend, which included an exhibition match featuring Canford professionals, a buffet and introductory skills challenges and lessons to give newcomers a taste of the game. The club is delighted that five have already booked follow-up sessions.
Petworth is happy to share that it managed to get 16 brand new people to try Real Tennis as part of the event, and the participants were also treated to an exhibition with local legends Tom Durack and Louis Gordon. Everyone that took part seemed to have a great experience and the club has already booked six of the visitors in for another lesson, with hopefully more to follow.
Meanwhile, Oratory reports that the event served as a “fantastic introduction to Real Tennis,” helping the club attract 32 participants for introductory taster sessions. “What a brilliant way to get stuck into the game! It was great to see such enthusiasm on court, and we hope [the participants] had as much fun as we did.”
