December League Results

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Saturday 11 December

It was a great Saturday for our ladies with both teams winning at home.    Ladies’ 1 faced Chieveley in Division 3 and they came awaay with 2 points for a 2-2 winning draw after a battling team performance.  It didn’t start well with Alison Nicholson/Cath Sillitoe losing 2-6 1-6 to the visitors’ first pair, Alison Banks/Helen Singleton. However, Penny Hemingway/Maggie Ingham levelled the tie with a 6-3 6-1 against Karen Willock/Kate Ritchie and, in the second round, Nicholson/Sillitoe recovered well after their first round loss to beat Willock/Ritchie 6-2 6-3 and ensure at least a point.  Hemingway/Ingham nearly made it 3 when they won the first set 6-3 against Banks/Singleton but the visitors fought back to take the second set 7-6 and then clinch the deciding tie-break.

Ladies’ 2 faced Bracknell 3 at home and there’s always an extra buzz when we face our local rivals!  The team finished with a 3-1 win but it was so close to being 4-0.  The experienced pairing of Jenny Sheppard/Ravinder Norman found it plain sailing against Valerie Ratcliffe/Alison Hynes, winning 6-2 6-2, and it was a similar story in the second round as they won 6-0 6-3 against Lisa Vassallo/Linda Tyrrell.  It was harder for Wendy Miles and Delyth Lynch, however, with the latter playing only her second match for the club.  However, they came out on top against Vassallo/Tyrrell, winning 7-6 6-4 and very nearly came back to win against Ratcliffe/Hyne, winning the second set 6-4 after losing the first 1-6 only to miss out in the deciding tiebreak.

Sunday 5 December

It was a tough round 4 of matches for our men’s teams with Men’s 1 facing Windsor 2 at home in Division 2.  With some of our top players missing it was always going to be hard for the team of Luke Tearall/David Smith and Russell Finch/Matt Paxton.  The best performance in a 0-4 defeat was from Finch Paxton who won the second set 6-2 against Christopher Tan/Peter Stephens but lost the deciding tiebreak.

Men’s 2 were away against Sonning 1 in Division 4 and they came away with a point from a losing 2-2 draw after a battling performance.   Pete Walker/Chris Torkington had a great start winning 3–6 6-3 1-0 against the home team’s first pair, Tim Armitage/Rob Ventin and  Steve Stow/Richard McCully were never far away from winning a set in their 4-6 3-6 defeat by Andrea Millo and Chris Dexter, our club’s 2002 men’s singles champion.  With Stow/McCully losing 2-6 3-6 to Sonning’s first pair it was down to Walker/Torkington to salvage a point with a fine 6-3 7-5 win against Millo/Dexter.

Our Boys 14U 2 team had a good 2-1 win against Caversham in Division 2.  Although Austin Bowker lost 4-6 0-6 in his singles against Seyon Rajeev-Lazar, Jake Walbancke won his 6-1 6-1 against Alf Monsen and the pair won their doubles 6-4 6-2 for the win.

Places must be booked in advance via the Members’ Area and selections will then be confirmed on the morning or evening before the event.  Please do not turn up if you have not been selected as you will be turned away. Players are selected on a first come first serve basis usually in multiples of 4 players.  Note that none of these sessions is suitable for beginners.

  • Note that the Committee tries to accommodate the wishes of members, within the constraints of time and 4 courts, but a session for each ability level is the guiding principle.
    • The Friday session is for recreational and higher players and runs from 6pm to 8pm
    • The Thursday 5:30 session is for intermediate players and runs from 5:30pm to 7:30pm.
    • The Thursday 7:30 session is for intermediate and advanced players including potential team players and runs from 7:30 to 9:30pm.
    • The Tuesday session is for advanced players and runs from 7pm to 9pm. 
    • In all cases you must commit to the full two hours.
  • Before the session you will have been told by the organiser your starting court, your partner and your opponents.
    • These will take into account each player’s normal playing standard with the best players starting on court 1 and, with 16 players, the least able players on court 4.  However, the organiser may occasionally decide to organise it differently such as a “lucky dip” for starting court & partner.
    • In addition, for the Thursday 7:30 session, the organiser will take into account any pairings for matches at the coming weekend.
  • Play is split into 3 rounds lasting 40 minutes each.  Play 1 set with normal deuce scoring.  If you finish early either carry on or mix in your 4.
    • If you haven’t finished the set after 40 minutes and the scores are level, play a sudden death point
  • At the end of the 40 minutes the winners of the first set played move up a court, the losers move down a court (court 1 is the top court). Winners on the top court stay, as do the losers on the bottom court. If you didn’t finish your set then the pair winning at the time moves up.
  • Pairs then split partners with the pair joining them and you play a second round.
    • Partners are selected by spinning rackets or using common sense to try to get a balanced 4.
  • Exactly the same happens for the third round.

Drop-In club nights are, as the name implies, more informal sessions than the bookable ones and you can arrive and leave when you like.  Those attending organise themselves, changing who plays with whom after most present have completed a set, although there’s often a more senior member present who  will take charge if needed.

We are currently running 2 Drop-In  sessions for all levels from Starter upwards…

  • The Tuesday session has recently been rebranded for All Levels and runs from 5:00pm to 7:00pm.  If you want to sit out and watch, maybe with a drink, you can do that too.  If you’ve arrived early for the 7 o’clock session, you’re also welcome to join in.
  • The Wednesday session is for all levels of player including beginner and usually runs from 7:30pm to 9:30pm.
    • You can expect members attending adult coaching to join in.
  • The Sunday session is for All levels and runs from 3:00 – 5:00pm.

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