Junior Open Singles Championships 2011
Aug 19, 2011 - Aug 21, 2011 Queen's Club P C Weaver
The British Junior Real Tennis Championships were held at Queens Club over the week-end of 19th-21st August. Young players from many different clubs plus 2 from France competed against each other for the coveted titles. The results were as follows:-
U/14 Girls Plate Georgie Willis (Seacourt) bt Felicity Sargent (Moreton) 8-0
U/18 Girls Plate Tara Lumley (Holyport) bt Jess Garside (Seacourt) 8-3
U/12 British Championship Nicholas Milton (Hyde) bt Tatham Harper (Cambridge) 8-2
U/14 British Championship Charlie Thompson (Seacourt) bt Murray Lane (Prested) 6-2 6-1
U/16 British Championship Giles Gunning (Seacourt) bt Charlie Braham (Petworth) 6-2 6-5
U/18 British Championship Lewis Williams (Prested) bt Ben Wall (Seacourt) 3-6 6-5 6-2
The photos below in order of appearance:
1. U16 Charlie Braham and Giles Gunning
2. U18 Girls Plate Jess Garside and Tara Lumley
3. U12 Tatham Harper and Nicholas Milton
4. U14 Murray Lane and Charlie Thompson
5. Nat Duncan Trophy, Lewis Williams, James Duncan and Laura Duncan
6. Tatham Harper and George Charlton
7. U18 Lewis Williams and Ben Wall
The British Junior Real Tennis Championships were held at Queens Club over the week-end of 19th – 21st August. Over 50 young players from many different clubs plus 2 from France competed against each other for the coveted titles.
The under 12’s section was wide open this year with many very young players taking part. The round robin groups produced finalists Tatham Harper (Cambridge) & Nicholas Milton (Hyde). In the final, Nicholas powered his way to a comprehensive 8-2 win.
The under 14’s section was dominated by Charlie Thompson (Seacourt). The rest of the group was very close with Murray Lane (Prested) coming through to take on Charlie in the final. Despite playing his best tennis Murray was no match for Charlie who won the title comfortably 6-2 6-1. There was also an under 14 girls plate competition in which Georgie Willis (Seacourt) defeated Felicity Sargent (Moreton) 8-0.
There was a dramatic climax to the Under 16 section with the best 2 players Giles Gunning (Seacourt) & Charlie Braham (Petworth) going head to head in the final. Giles went off fast and won the opening set 6-2 and was cruising in the second set until he was struck down with cramp. He struggled on and somehow managed to win the set and the match 6-5. It is fair to say that all the stopping and starting did not help Charlie’s concentration and I am sure that these 2 players will look forward to a re- match in the coming years.
There was more drama to come in the Under 18 Final where hot favourite Lewis Williams(Prested) was expected to be far too strong for Ben Wall (Seacourt) who is concentrating solely on his golf these days. However, Ben played brilliantly against a nervous Lewis and took the first set 6-3 and raced to a 4-1 lead in the second. But at this point Lewis finally got going and just won the set and went on to win the coveted Silver Bowl.
Friends and rivals Jess Garside (Seacourt) & Tara Lumley (Holyport) played each other in an under 18 Girls Plate Final. This year it was Tara’s turn to come out on top with a convincing 8-3 victory.
All in all the standard of the junior game continues to rise and the most promising sign is the number and the abilty of the youngest players in the under 12 section.Once again thanks must go out to Neptune for their sponsorship and support and to the Queens Club for hosting the event.
by Paul Weaver