September League Roundup

The summer league matches came to a conclusion in September with the last two rounds of the Mixed Doubles League.

On 7th September Mixed 1 faced Twyford 1 in Division 2 and their 3 points for a 3-1 win ensured they stay in Division 2 for another year.  Emma Knowles/John Phillips were a class above the rest of the players, winning 6-2 6-2 against Rebecca Jenkins/Tim Ward and 6-1 6-1 against Karen McKenzie/Any Vyronos.  Tina Stern/Matt Paxton found it a bit tougher against McKenzie/Vyronos but, after winning the first set on a tie-break they ran away with the second 6-1.  That proved to be a vital rubber as Jenkins/Ward were far too strong for Stern/Paxton, winning 6-1 6-1.

Mixed 2 went away to play Binfield in Division 5B and they won 4-0, although it wasn’t quite as easy as the score suggests.  Michael Harris/Jenny Sheppard won 6-3 6-2 against John Pascoe/Joyce Dargie but Peter Lindholm/Alison Nicholson had to dig deep to come out on top against Tim Usher/Angelique Blom, winning 7-6 7-6.  It was easier in the second round, though, as they won 2 and 2 against the home 1st pair while Harris/Sheppard won 1 and 3 against their 2nds.

Mixed 3 were away at Purley in Division 7B and they only just missed out on a 4-0 win, instead having to be satisfied with 3-1.  Jenny Partridge/Andrew Morrison showed what a good match pair they have become with a 6-1 6-0 win against Natasha Walker/Martin Dickens followed by 6-1 6-1 against Linda Johnson/Matt Crittle.  Wendy Miles/David Jubb certainly enjoyed themselves in their first set against Johnson/Crittle, winning it 6-0 and then taking the second 6-3 .  By the second round Walker/Dickens were recovering from their thrashing in the first round and took the first set 6-2 against Miles/Jubb although they lost the second by the same score.  But by the time the home pair won the deciding tie-break, Crowthorne had already won the tie.

On the final Saturday of the summer season, Mixed 1 had a tough trip to play Caversham Park 1 in Division 2.  Caversham Park had dropped just 1 point and 2 rubbers all season, all in their close match against Wokingham 1, and were leading the table by a point over Wokingham.  The result was a 3-1 win for Caversham Park but Emma Knowles/John Phillips had the satisfaction of taking their first rubber 6-4 6-4 against Celine Cheng/Steven Ratcliffe.  The home side’s stronger pair was clearly Hayley Halsall-Randall/Edwin Lak who played at 2 and beat Tina Stern/Matt Paxton 6-0 6-2 before beating Knowles/Phillips 6-2 6-2.   Stern/Paxton finished with a 1-6 3-6 loss against Cheng/Ratcliffe but, despite the 1-3 loss, the team stays in Division 2.

Mixed 2 got their revenge by beating Caversham Park’s 3rd team 3-1 in Division 5B to finish in the second promotion place, a point ahead of their beaten opponents.  It was a close match with 3 rubbers going to 3 sets.  Jenny Sheppard/Joe Forrester won 4-6 6-4 7-5 against Cheryl Heppenstall/Paul Flood while Ravinder Norman/Steve Stow were narrowly losing to Steph Preston/Howard Willis 4-6 6-3 4-6.  In the second round Sheppard/Forrester again lost their first set, this time 2-6, before taking the 2nd and 3rd on tie-breaks, winning 2-6 7-6 7-6 against Preston/Howard while Norman/Stow were having a relatively straightforward 6-2 6-4 win against Heppenstall/Flood to clinch the 3-1 victory.

Mixed 3 finished their season with a cracking 4-0 victory at home against Home Park 2 in Division 7B, finishing top of the table after losing just one point in their opening match.  Lorraine Fowler/Andrew Morrison started with a convincing 6-1 6-4 win against Rebecca Calvert/Johal Bal but the performance of the day must go to Pauline Snell/David Jubb who thrashed Sunita Patel/Michael Jones 6-0 6-0.  In the second round Fowler/Morrison did nearly as well, beating the hapless Patel/Jones 6-0  6-1 while Snell/Jubb slipped up a bit, winning 6-1 3-6 1-0 against Calvert/Bal.


Many thanks and congratulations to Alison Nicholson, ably assisted by Mark Callaghan, who organised the Mixed teams and achieved promotion for the 2nds and 3rds while the 1st team stay in a strong Division 2.


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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