Author: Gillian Sanderson

Commiserations to our Mens team who had to settle for runners up spot at last weekend’s finals day of the Essex Summer Inter Club Cup competitions. They faced Rayleigh LTC in the Mens Intermediate Cup final and whilst finishing level at two rubbers all, they lost by a one set deficit. Well done to our players Arron, Dan, Stefan and Greg.

This year’s Captain’s Day wasn’t the best of weather days!  However the courts were full all afternoon with members trying to win sets to win one of the many prizes generously provided by Steve.  With three brand new Head rackets on offer, competition was fierce!  The rackets went to Greg, Alison and Nicola, whilst others won bottles of wine, tennis balls and grips, lottery tickets and more!  Steve also provided cakes for everyone!  Thanks to Sheenah and Glynis for helping to serve teas.  And just when it mattered, the showers stopped and Peter was able to light the barbecue and stay dry while he cooked for everyone and it was even possible to sit outside to eat!  A good day was had by all!

Excellent evening at the club when over 30 members enjoyed a French supper. Thanks to all who supported the event, and to Ashley, Jane and Gill for cooking, Tom for looking after the bar, Sue and her granddaughter for decorating the clubhouse and laying the tables, plus those who helped clear up. A good time was had by all!

Congratulations to club member Sarah Ball who has picked up another racketlon world title competing in the Racketlon World Doubles Championships 2024 in Denmark. Sarah won the Womens Doubles +50 title with her partner, Jane Galsworthy. For those who might not know, racketlon involves playing your opponent at table tennis, squash, badminton and then tennis, with each sport played to 21 points, and the player accumulating the most points across all four sports wins the match. A fantastic achievement Sarah, well done!

A big thank you to Jane for organising our Musical Extravaganza Night at the club recently. Attended by almost 70 members, friends and family, the night was a huge success, with Joe Palmer singing live and our very own WLTC Choir singing a few songs alongside him! Many thanks to all who came along, and especially to Jane for all her hard work organising the event and to those who helped with food preparation, decorating the clubhouse, and looking after the bar on the night. It was certainly a party to remember!

Thanks to coach Martin for running this event recently. Despite the day beginning with rain and wind, the weather conditions improved for the 26 players who came along for an introduction to competitive tennis, emphasizing fun above all, especially for the younger participants. Matches employed various scoring methods and began with the 8 & under red ball players, Olive and Luca emerging as the eventual winners. Next up were the orange and green ball sessions, where Stefanos clinched victory in the 9U orange boy’s category, and Dixie and Ethan triumphed in the 10U green ball. During a break before the Yellow 16 & under matches, a delightful parent/child doubles tournament took place, culminating in Dom and Vivienne’s victory. Lastly, the 16U category, featuring six entries, saw Freya and Max triumphing in a mixed Fast 4 format. Well done to all the winners and thanks to everyone involved in making this a memorable day for all the competitors.

Wins for club members on finals day of the L&W Winter Tournaments. Darren Glover & Duncan Taylor won the Mens Doubles Plate event in an all Westcliff Lawn final overcoming Adam Dugmore & Tom Reader. This was followed by a second final for Tom when he partnered Chrissie Christou to take the Mixed Doubles Plate title. Congratulations to all our players!

A blustery but warm afternoon for the start of season American Tournament. Twenty four members played six rounds to decide who was going to win the two trophies on offer this time. The Deb Saund Memorial Trophy was won by Julie Rackham for the third time, whilst the Beresford Marshall Memorial Trophy has a new winner, Adam Dugmore. Very well done to both players! Thanks to everyone who joined in and of course thanks to Steve for his very efficient organisation as usual!

Great to see so many members at the club on Good Friday morning to play tennis. Nine courts in action despite the very windy conditions! Plenty of interest when Oli demonstrated the club’s new ball machine which is available to hire when Oli is at the club. Hot cross buns went down well as usual! Many thanks to Hazel & Di for their sterling efforts serving tea and coffee.