December 5, 2025
- Riya Bharwad wins the LRTA Under 21 singles at Radley
- Godsill and Glasscock (almost!) win the Doubles Double
- CAMBRIDGE WIN AWAY AT MIDDLESEX!
- National League on Friday (17th)
- East Anglia Cup, 28/6/25 at Newmarket
- East Anglia Cup+ 2025 @Newmarket
- FLM IRPTA National League, Division 9: Final
- Leamington Visit Redux
Free Taster Sessions!
Membership of CURTC is open to all, very much town as well as gown. We love welcoming new members of any age. This ancient and intriguing game is fast or slow, tactical, subtle and addictive. One of our professionals (Kees, Peter and Mark) is usually here 9am – 5pm on weekdays or 9am – 12 noon on Saturdays, they will be happy to explain and encourage.
We offer free taster lessons in small groups usually on the first and third Wednesday each month at 12:30pm and 5 or 6pm. Just register your interest with the pros, in person, by telephone, 01223 357106 or by email curtcpros@gmail.com
Riya Bharwad wins the LRTA Under 21 singles at Radley
Godsill and Glasscock (almost!) win the Doubles Double
In this year’s CURTC Doubles Championship four groups of teams played off handicap over the summer in a round robin format to compete for places in the semi-finals. In the semis, Group A winners Lloyd and Aldous (75) were beaten 8-3 by Glasscock and Godsill (62), off a tough handicap difference of 13. In the other semi, Pearson and Brown (27) beat Menzies and Marsh (46) 8-7 in a very close-fought and entertaining battle, an even bigger handicap hurdle for the winners. This of course left a very tough handicap difference of 35 for Pearson and Brown vs Glasscock and Godsill in the final, and this proved too tough even for that very high quality tennis pairing, and they lost 8-2, to give Glasscock and Godsill their first ever club title (and indeed their first real-tennis honours of any sort!).
Winning the CURTC Doubles gets you an invite to compete in the Callender Cup at Wellington College, Nov 1-2. This is a national competition off handicap, where all of the participants are winners of their club’s handicap doubles, and a record 15 teams were present, including as wildcards last year’s Oxford Winners Charania and Ault. There was some very high quality tennis to watch from some low handicap pairings in the round robin phases. We (Glasscock and Godsill) proceeded with 3 solid 8-1 wins through the round robin on Saturday and the quarter finals on Sunday.
At this point we came up against the very strong local Wellington pairing in the semis of Mark Harris and Nigel Hall (40) (Hall is an ex-Cambridge varsity player and ex-Corpus Christi student from the 90s), a team that we had watched with some trepidation in the round robins and quarter final. With their skill and local court knowledge they managed to take a 4-3 lead. We then started playing more sensibly to our strong handicap advantage and pulled back to win a memorable 8-6 semi-final.
Enter the dark horses of the tournament, the junior pairing of Bartlett and Gee (80) from Holyport, who were like us unbeaten in the tournament thus far, beating last year’s winners Charania and Ault in their semi-final, in a hard-fought 8-5 win. We probably stood the best chance of anyone of beating them, with only 20 handicap difference in their favour. However, we made a few slips in the opening games of the final, which let them take a 5-1 lead. We then made a strong recovery with some excellent cross-court hitting by Glasscock and some effective high and underarm twist serves by Godsill that brought us to 7-5 against, still in trouble but in with a chance. The pressure was too great however, and the youngsters took the final game to win 8-5. In the end their high quality serving, some excellent winning `gets’ and some unforced errors by us were too much to beat the handicap differential. Congratulations to them, but we were more than satisfied with the progress we have made this year. They won Extratec racquets and we won printed tennis balls, grrr… Onwards and upwards!
Many thanks to the pros Adam and Danny at Wellington for a well organised and fun tournament.
Simon Godsill
CAMBRIDGE WIN AWAY AT MIDDLESEX!
As we arrived we found Dave Pimblett losing the day’s opening match. So far, so Cambridge. Then we waited until Faustus Vilimas (30), the day’s lowest handicapped player, a horribly young, one-time student now real tennis intern at Middlesex, arrived. He was politely late and still suffering from the previous evening’s Brodie Cup v Radley celebrations. It showed. On a fun day, the rest was a flow of comfortable Cambridge wins and it’s not often I get to say that.
TK
ps Some good news about the MURTC court. Middlesex University have granted an extension to the notice period until July 2027.
National League on Friday (17th)
Our very own Mark Hobbs and Zack Smart will be hosting Queens on Friday in the IRPTA National League from 6pm on the Blue Court. Please come along and cheer on the home team and enjoy what promises to be some high-level and competitive tennis! Feel free to BYOB and snacks.
ps If you have a few minutes, make sure to ask Mark about his recent National League match at Queens!!
Champagne League Finals
The Division 1 final between Stephen Doel (handicap 28) and Alan Sharpe (handicap 49) was the closest of matches from the very start and continued without either player achieving a significant lead. However, Stephen overcame the significant handicap difference to get one hand on the Champagne. Just as we thought Alan was beaten, he came back with the court coverage of an undergrad and an amazing run of points to take the match 8/7.
Riya Bharwad (59) played Alex Ridgeon (65) in the Division 2 final. Alex started very well, leading 4 games to love with his customary flicks, changing the direction of the ball at the very last fraction of a second and stunning the crowd with blistering speed around the court. At this stage Riya quelled her nerves and controlled the ball with great skill when serving and receiving. The quality of her underarm twist and bobble services were testament to hours of practice over the summer months. At 5 games all, with Alex tiring, Riya took control of the match to win 8/5.
There was some concern that Simon Aldous (73) would not cope with giving John Sheekey (74) a head start in the Division 3 final. Wrong! This was another thrilling final; Simon serving excellent underarm twists, placing the ball into the corners and John showing great speed and athleticism. At 6-all, Simon’s service advantage deserted him and John bounded his way to grasp the champagne with an 8/6 win. Simon showed equal amounts of joy winning his prize.
Many thanks to Pol Roger for their generous sponsorship of this year’s Champagne Leagues!
Kees
The Dutch Visit
Last weekend, The Dutch landed once again on our courts, armed with rackets, team spirit, and a suspicious amount of good cheer. From the first serve to the last reste, the courts buzzed with energy — a blend of competitive fire and plenty of laughter. The rallies stretched long and volleys flew fast, with the visitors’ sharp skills and trademark enthusiasm earning them a 10/5 victory over Cambridge.
While the visitors may have claimed the numbers, CURTC showed excellent form and competitive spirit, with the whispers of ‘next time’ growing louder with every handshake. As post-match conversations at The Punter flew, it was clear that the talks of challenging The Dutch for a rematch had already begun. One thing’s certain: when these two teams meet again, it promises to be just as competitive, just as fun, and just as memorable.
Thank you to both teams for an amazing day, to Kevin, Philippe, Peter, and Kees for all the help with organising, and to Sonja and George for keeping us going with cakes and cider! Until next time, bandits!
Ulla Petti
2024/5 CURTC Junior Club Championships
Riya, Felicity, Leandros
The finals of the Under 16 and Under 19 CURTC Club Championships took place last Wednesday. Nine players competed in the Under 16 CC round robin (RR) stage of the tournament to determine two finalists. The RR matches were played over the last few weeks, which resulted in Leandros Georgoulis winning all his matches and Riya Bharwad coming second. There were many close matches, notably, Marius Parente-White nearly defeating Riya and William Buttrey winning against Marius.
In the knockout final it was obvious that Riya had made significant improvements to her game, probably from making very good use of her Summer Season Ticket (SST)! Riya led all the way, however Leandros kept within a game up to when the score was 4/5. Leandros showed great speed and agility and Riya served and returned with power and precision. Riya then increased her lead to win 8/5.
In the Under 19 Club Championship, Riya and Leandros joined the defending champion, Felicity Riddall-Bell. All three players were about handicap 60 so it was no surprise that there was very little separating the players in their matches. Leandros came closest to catching Felicity, the ultimate winner, losing 8/7 and Riya lost 8/6. Felicity’s victory was a fitting end to her time as a Cambridge junior, as along with her mother, Fiona, she has been a significant contributor to junior tennis at our club.
Kees
East Anglia Cup, 28/6/25 at Newmarket
Purloined from the CURTC Instagram page.
It was hot… Even at 8:30 when we arrived at Newmarket to take on the hosts in the first round of the East Anglia Cup. The EAC is a round robin between the four East Anglia Clubs, each match comprising two Singles and a Doubles with Charles Norbury & Miles Hember doing the Singles and myself and President Vix doing the Doubles. Newmarket is a tough court to play on as it is a bit bigger and just a bit different form CURTC. Having assured everyone to be prepared for a low bounce, the balls proceeded to bounce around in an almost Blue Court fashion.
First up was Charles with the smallest of his handicap disadvantages for the day, 9. Taking a bit of time to suss out the court and forget my bounce advice, Charles got going to get to 5-all before just falling short. There was no stopping Miles, in fact there was no stopping Miles all afternoon! This meant the Doubles would decide the match (and perhaps more). Well things went Cambridge’s way and we then had a two hour wait before taking on Prested which did not go so well, Miles excepted. A more convincing display against Hatfield meant it all came down to the last match. Newmarket needed a sweep, Prested a win with the other possibility meaning that three teams would be equal on points and the dreaded games count back would be needed..
It was now even hotter and we were struggling just watching from the Dedans. Newmarket came agonisingly short in a comeback in the first Singles but Jon Fistein made sure the result would come down to the final Doubles. The first games were traded before John Burnett started scampering around like someone half his age giving Newmarket a convincing win and a search for calculators.
Apologies for using Sunday’s scoresheet
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Many thanks to Rodger East and Newmarket for hosting and we look forward to the trip to Prested for the 2026 East Anglia Cup!
East Anglia Cup+ 2025 @Newmarket
Fresh with the news of the Division 1 team’s triumph on Saturday, four gallant somewhat higher handicap players arrived at the Newmarket club on Sunday morning to defend the Division 2 trophy that they had won at Hatfield in the previous year.
A mix of youth and experience was the order of the day, with Felicity Riddall Bell and Riya Bharwad – promising and fast improving juniors both – playing the singles ties while the more experienced pair of Kate Kirk and Alasdair Bovaird played the doubles. First up was a match against the host club. Both singles saw the Cambridge players facing significant handicap differences and a tight timescale which left little room for error. One draw and one loss ensued in the singles, with a victory in the doubles levelling the overall match score.
Newmarket then took to the courts again, getting the better of Hatfield, before it was the light blues’ turn to face Prested. Riya claimed victory in very short order with her pace around the court both during and between points proving too much for her opponent. Meanwhile a victory for Felicity was arguably only prevented by the necessarily strict enforcement of the time limits (she was 40-0 up with the score at 4-4 when the buzzer went!). There was much favourable comment among the spectators in the dedans on both the quality and energy on display – one marker observed that he couldn’t get the words ‘change ends please’ out before Riya was at the net ready to swap places with her opponent – another commenting that ‘Claire Fahey better watch out’ as Felicity beat a short chase with a volley off the penthouse. A victory in the doubles ensured that once again Cambridge took the honours.
Being experienced players, our doubles pair took the opportunity to relax and enjoy the excellent lunch provided by Newmarket while Riya and Felicity both took a turn as markers for matches which saw Newmarket get the better of Hatfield.
The Cambridge team’s final match was against Hatfield. Felicity won her singles comfortably but Riya was conceding a handicap difference of 13 points (Owe 30/Rec 15) and although she fought hard was not able to overcome the odds. A victory in the final doubles left the club on 12 points for the day – 5 wins, 2 draws and 2 losses.
The host team had the opportunity to take the trophy if they were to win two of their final three matches versus Prested – which they proceeded to do – although with the singles split it came down to the final doubles to determine the victors – a record of 6 wins, one draw and two losses meaning a total of 13 points and victory for the hosts by the narrowest of margins.
An enjoyable day – well organised and hosted and all looking forward to the next edition at Prested on the last weekend of June 2026.
Alasdair Bovaird, Cambridge EAC+ Skipper
Tayabali & White Singles League Celebration
Tayabali & White have generously supported the Spring Singles Leagues for a number of years. As this season draws to a close the winners of the 5 Divisions were announced by the chief organiser and ‘finder of someone to fill in at the last minute’, Peter Paterson, on court on Wednesday, June 11th at a drinks celebration also generously sponsored by Tayabali & White.
And the winners are:
| Winner | Runner Up | Results | |
| Division 1 | Team C | Team E | Link |
| Division 2 | Student 1 | Chase Off | Link |
| Division 3 | Student 2 | Hazard When Wet | Link |
| Division 4 | Youth Team | Unbeatables | Link |
| Division 5 | Vamos | Smuj | Link |
FLM IRPTA National League, Division 9: Final
Dan & Amy (back), Ollie & Ben
On the final day of May, 2025 CURTC hosted Prested in the National League Division 9 final. Cambridge had qualified first for the final, losing only once, in a game Cambridge forfeited, ironically against the other Prested team.
Ben Craig opened proceedings for Cambridge, against Captain Amy Pye. Ben conceded the first game and was down 40-15 in the second, looking out of sorts he ground out the game, taking it in a deuce. The third and fourth games went to deuce but again Ben got the better of his opponent. At 4-1 Ben found his form with his service variety and forehand power controlling many of the points, forcing his opponent to defend. Ben took the set 6-2. The second set followed a similar pattern to the first. Amy fought hard throughout, but at the key moments Ben stood up. His defence in the backhand corner was a feature of his play. Ben would take the set 6-1 and the match.
Prested requested the doubles be played second with Oliver Anderson Shah and Ben much more obliging than their antipodean captain. Oliver, who had emerged from the library for the first time since February started the match slowly. The game was evenly poised at 2-2, however from here Ben and Oliver took control. Ben dominated this match and was well supported by Oliver leading the duo to a thumping 8-2 victory.
With the league secured, Oliver had his singles to play. Undefeated across the tournament and facing the league MVP, Oliver (possibly playing his last competitive match for CURTC as a student – PHD funding dependent) began his match against Dan Worbys slowly. Dan was very solid and pushed Oliver around the court. Dan would take the set 6-3. The second set resembled the first, Oliver, unable to get into his groove, went down 3-1. At this point I was worried, as my shepherd’s pie was not yet in the oven. However, Oliver is the sort of player that finds another gear when he is down. Two games went to deuce and Oliver won them both. At 3-3 his serve clicked and suddenly it was 5-3. Another tight game and then the set went to Oliver. From here it was one way traffic. Oliver was charging around the court, retrieving everything and raced to a 5-1 lead. Dan was out of answers but fought to the end, with the game finishing 6-2.
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Well played to Ulla, Oliver and Ben for a terrific season and thanks to FLM for their sponsorship along with the CURTC Pros for their support (and photos) throughout.
Charles Norbury, Captain
Cambridge Mixed Doubles
They came from far (St Andrews) and wide (Jesmond) for CURTC’s Mixed Doubles tournament. The 13 pairs were divided in the two Divisions each with semi finals and a final. While last year both divisions were dominated by visiting players, this time the locals struck back. In Group A, it seemed clear that the CURTC President had used home court advantage wisely in her choice of partner as they made some tough matches look relatively easy. Group B was also dominated by a local pair, Sonja & Jon but the runners-up spot came down to the last group game where any of the other three pairs could have qualified. Kenneth & Luisa had travelled the furthest and got the serve back at 5-all and 40-all against Guy & Kate. However, the visitors were denied by a cruel bounce off the Hazard penthouse which looped just out of bounds.
In Division 2, the youthful Richard was guided by Riya’s experience to top their group while the second group ended with each pair having won one of their two matches! Almudena & Johnathan advanced by the smallest of margins in spite of losing their last match to the unlucky Martin & Lis, 7-8.
In the Division 1 Semifinals, both Group winners progressed at the expense of the Hobbsy coached Kirk pairing and our visitors from Queens. This produced an intriguing final between the two form pairs of the day. Vix did an amazing job keeping Jin calm and focussed while blocking anything that came her way. Sonja & Jon hung in there but Jin’s stature grew as the match progressed until he seemed to equal Peter heightwise (see photos above) while not trying to hit the ball in the next county. A slight wobble at the end, perhaps induced by sore knuckles after a day of more or less continuous fist bumping, gave a glimmer of hope to Sonja & Jon but it was not to be.
The Division 2 Final offered a rematch of an earlier match where the Richard & Riya had proved victorious. The final stated off rather cagily as the first games were traded. Then it seemed as if James & Lucy realised they had a train to catch as they upped their level of play. Riya battled manfully but even she was worn down by Lucy’s volleys as the match rushed to its conclusion.
Many thanks to the CURTC Pros for marking and organising along with Kees & Louise for the splendid lunch and Pol Roger for their continued support for our great game. A special thanks to our visitors and we hope to see everyone again next time at the Cambridge Mixed Doubles in May ’26!
Photo credits, CURTC Pros
Graduate Cup Final
The Graduate Cup is CURTC’s premier handicap competition and was first played in 1875! The Honours Board may be a bit faded but includes many luminaries of CURTC membership past and present. James Dowson and Danny Lawrence had battled through the group stages and emerged from the KO rounds earlier this year as the 2024/25 Graduate Cup finalists. Who would prevail and earn the coveted spot on the Honours Board?
James had a significant handicap disadvantage but was clearly in form having been triumphant the previous day in the Cambridge Mixed Doubles. The ever smiling Danny however never gives up… James drew first blood but games were traded until 2-all. At which point Danny eked out a two game lead before being pegged back to 6/5. Maybe the previous day of ~160 mins on court caught up with James but Danny prevailed in taking the final two games of a keenly played contest. The stream can be found here: https://youtu.be/-6zGcwc4RaA?t=6410
20 Category Final
The final of the final CURTC’s 2025 Category Tournaments was played last Sunday when Ed Pearson and Roly Denman met in the 20-29.9 handicap Category Tournament. The other Category tournaments are played on a single day but thanks to the endeavours of 20 something handicapper, Charlie D’Oyly, the 20’s used a format based on longer matches. A good crowd filles the Dedans and Clubroom, not just drawn by the prospect of Charlie’s generously provided croissants.
The match started with s series of extended restes as both players seemed determined to get in early. However, each reste needed to be won at least twice such was the quality of the defence. However, Roly prevailed on a couple of extended deuces and built a 5-1 lead. However, Mr Mo had clearly seen enough from Roly’s side and alighted onto Ed’s shoulder as he clawed his way back to 5-4. Ed saved a set point but Roly followed up with a force of forces to take the set. Mr Mo stayed put as Ed took the first two games and the crowd sensed that this could go to a third. However Roly slowly took control with a consistency of shot making that made Ed’s task increasingly difficult.
Many thanks to both players for such a high quality and entertaining match, Peter for his marking and organisation and Charlie for driving the tournament and the croissants! The livestream can be rewatched here: https://youtu.be/-6zGcwc4RaA?t=1092
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Giraffe Club: CURTC Alumni
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