* Mixed Doubles Invitation (Billy Ross-Skinner) 2026

After the near miss from last year with a sweating court, the heaters were on in advance this year to prevent any issues and so all players could go full pelt from ball one. Group 1 on Friday was the group reduced to 3 pairs, which meant it was played in a round robin format and the 1^st match of the day proved to be the crucial one.  Laura Neill & Geoffrey Russell just coming out on top after a slow start against Katherine Carney & Jonathan Fisher 2/6 6/4 6/5 in what proved to be the battle for 2^nd place in the group.  The other pair in Group 1, Georgie Ingham & Will Todd, proved to be in irresistible form in the final 2 matches dropping only 3 games in total in 6/0 6/1 and 6/1 6/1 victories to move through to the Quarter-Finals as group winners, with Laura and Geoffrey joining them.

Group 2 turned out to be a much tighter affair.  Of the 5 matches played, 4 of them went to a deciding set and 3 of those 4 went down to a deciding game at 5/5.  Group winners were Rachel Hollington & Henry Stuttaford with a perfect 2 wins from 2 matches and joining them in the Quarter-Finals were Alexandra Bryant & Max Wetton who decided to go down the value for money route, winning the 1^st set of each match fairly comfortably, then losing the 2^nd set each time 6/5, before winning 2 out of 3 of their deciding sets, which was enough to see them through.

 
Group 3 started exactly as Group 2 had finished, 2 6/5 final set wins, this time for Saskia Bollerman & Nick Thompson and Amy Pye & Richard Ramjane respectively.  In the shoot-out to decide who would go directly through to the Quarter-Final it was Saskia and Nick who proved to be the stronger of the two, running out 6/4 6/3 winner to move on to Sunday while Amy and Richard would have to go through via the repechage system.  There they would come up against Minty Oldham & Chris Lintott who won the battle for the 1^st Round losers 6/5 6/3 to take their own place in the repechage play-off.  It was a return to earlier form at this stage as the 2 pairs shared the first 2 sets 6/1 2/6 to send us into a final set decider starting at 3/3.  Amy & Richard had their chances but it was Minty & Chris who progressed with a 6/3 win to join Saskia and Nick in the Quarter-Finals.

The final group to find the remaining Quarter-Finalists started with a very strong start from one of the defending champions Ulla Petti and her new partner Nick Wherry with a 6/3 6/1 win against Tara Lumley & Ben Geytenbeek.  Their opponents were Izzy Marshall & Dan Worboys who came through what had been the match of the tournament up to that point with a hugely entertaining 4/6 6/4 6/4 win over Sabrina Didizian & Hugo van der Meer. Izzy & Dan maintained their excellent form with a 6/4 6/1 win to take their place in the Quarter-Finals, where they were joined by Sabrina & Hugo who came through the repechage system to rightfully continue their run in the tournament.

 
The first Quarter-Final saw the tournament favourites after their brutal group performance Georgie Ingham & Will Todd, take on Minty Oldham & Chris Lintott and Georgie & Will certainly didn’t have things all their own way this time, losing more games in the first set than they had in both their group matches combined but they did still manage to progress 6/4 6/4 to enhance their favourites tag.  In the Semi-Final they would meet Rachel Hollington & Henry Stuttaford who put up their strongest performance of the event so far in a very impressive 6/1 6/5 win against Sabrina Didizian & Hugo van der Meer.  As mentioned Sabrina & Hugo had been improving as they went, both exceptionally talented players who have taken their natural lawn tennis skills onto the real tennis court to great effect but Rachel & Henry controlled the first set really well with a combination of Henry’s great court coverage and Rachel dealing with anything thrown at her, winning it 6/1 and managing to close out the second set, which displayed exactly what this tournament is all about with ferocious rallies involving all 4 players and some relentless retrieving 6/5.

The 3^rd of the Quarter-Finals ended up being the only one to go to a deciding set, most unlike the first 2 days where a deciding set was required in most of the matches and it was Saskia Bollerman & Nick Thompson who came out on top, beating Laura Neill & Geoffrey Russell 4/6 6/4 6/4 in a match that was impossible to call throughout, with both pairs having runs of control before momentum would shift again.  In the Semi-Final they would meet Alexandra Bryant & Max Wetton who continued their run of winning the first set fairly comfortably but this time broke their habit of losing the 2^nd set 6/5 by closing the match out 6/3 to win in straight sets for the first time against Izzy Marshall & Dan Worboys, who while not quite hitting the heights of their group stage performances, really did very little wrong in defeat.

The first Semi-Final saw a fantastic battle between 2 pairs using very similar tactics, with the man playing the back of the court and the lady playing up at the net, as Georgie Ingham & Will Todd took on Rachel Hollington & Henry Stuttaford.  Will & Henry know each other well having recently fought out a great battle in the Hatfield Club Championships Semi-Final which went to a deciding set and so it was always likely to be a close battle. Both player’s partners more then held their own in the match too, defending the galleries to great effect and retrieving some great shots at the hazard end, particularly off the tambour and at 5/5 in the first set it was impossible to call which way the match would go.  Crucially Georgie & Will started the game at the serving end and made it count closing out the game and the set 6/5.  The 2^nd set didn’t quite live up to the 1^st with Henry, perhaps feeling he needed to do even more to stand a chance, started going all out a bit more to mixed results and Georgie & Will took an early lead they wouldn’t relinquish, taking the set 6/1 and their place in the final.

The second Semi-Final saw a real contrast in styles as Saskia Bollerman & Nick Thompson took on Alexandra Bryant & Max Wetton.   Saskia’s experience and control of serves and shots with Nick’s solid gallery play and useful array of serves, against Alexandra & Max’s more aggressive, pacey play, led to a fascinating battle that neither pair ever really took charge of.  Games were constantly swapped with a combination of breathtaking rallies and winners, along with some unforced errors from all players, meant it was impossible to call throughout.  For the first time in the tournament Alexandra & Max lost the first set 6/4, to put them in an unfamiliar position of having to come from behind if they wanted to progress.  The match continued in much the same vein, Alexandra & Max getting a lead only for Saskia & Nick to claw it back but Alexandra & Max managed to hold the lead and eventually close it out 6/4 to send us to a deciding set starting at 3/3.  Saskia & Nick won the first game to take a 4/3 lead but it would be the last game they would win, as Alexandra & Max played 3 really tight games to close out the set and match 6/4 and take their place in the final.

The final was everything we would want and hope for from a Billy Ross Skinner final!  Georgie & Will having got there without having dropped a set but Alexandra & Max having improved throughout the event both individually and as a pair and undoubtedly with the ability to beat anyone on their day.  Georgie & Will started the final the stronger moving into 3/0 lead early on as Alexandra & Max struggled to cope with Will’s relentless retrieving and control and Georgie’s solid net play but they did finally get on the board to make it 1/3 and then pulled it back to 3/4 but at 5/3 and 40/0 it looked like it was all over but Alexandra & Max managed to pull it back to 40/40 before a perfect length bobbled from Will meant Max could only hit it out of play and still Georgie & Will were yet to drop a set.  Alexandra & Max sensibly used the well practiced tactic of switching who they returned in the 2^nd set in the hope of changing their fortunes. The tactic seemed to work well as they kept things tight at 2/2 but from that point Georgie & Will moved away again to lead 5/2 and it seemed like they would win the tournament without dropping a set.  Alexandra & Max quickly made it 3/5 but at 40/40 they faced their first match point only for Max to put the ball into the Grille defending 2^nd Gallery to make it 4/5 and then 5/5.  At 40/15 up Georgie & Will had 3 more match points to take the title without dropping a set but one by one they couldn’t take them, the final point being a brilliant volley from Alexandra from Will’s return of serve, killing the ball dead to send us to a deciding set and yet another nailbiter! 3/3 quickly became 4/4 and then the almost inevitable 5/5, the end the championship definitely deserved. 2 short chases swiftly brought Georgie & Will down to the serving end in a strong position but losing both of them was definitely not in the script and 0/30 quickly became 15/40 and Alexandra & Max had 3 match points of their own, with a hazard chase bringing them back down to the serving end.  A cut volley return saved the first one and before they knew it was 5/5 40/40 and one point to find the winner.  A return of serve was all it took to draw the error from Alexandra and complete a well deserved win for Georgie & Will in an epic final played to a very high standard and in a great spirit!

Huge thanks as always to Clare Bucknell & Paul Bollerman for all their incredible work with the organisation, making up the pairings so effectively, making sure everyone knew when they were required and the tournament dinner on the Saturday evening in the new local curry house that went down very well.  Sadly this is the last year Clare and Paul will be organising the event as their new life in Holland and especially with a new addition to join them shortly will undoubtedly keep them very busy but they have done an amazing job over the years they have run it, breathing new life into what was already a great event but has been taken to new levels with their enthusiastic approach!  Very best wishes to them both from us all here at Hatfield in their new adventure!  Thanks also go to the LRTA for running the event and all their support, Jesters Club and Dedanists’ Society for their sponsorship and the T&RA for the Pol Roger, and particularly Sarah Sullivan & Liz Fisher and their team of helpers who really do make HHTC and this event unique with the fantastic food and hospitality they lay on throughout the 3 days and without which the event would just not be the same!