March 14, 2026
- 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
Cambridge Ladies vs HHTC – Match Report
On Saturday I returned from my holiday back home in the sunny land of Oz and swapped mornings swimming at the beach for a dark wintery morning trip to the historic Hatfield House. We were welcomed heartily at the door by our wonderful host Martin. After a brief discussion about what to source from the wine cellar (a regular Hatfield tactic for later matches) he took to the court against Cambridge’s phenomenon Kate. Despite some excellent rallies, Kate breezed ahead and won 6-2 6-3.
The Kees Bus arrived during the game and brought Vix, who then faced off against Joe. He had clearly ignored good festive season advice to eat mince pies and instead played squash. This showed in the hard fought match with Vix, where he scrapped though 6-2, 6-0. A junior friendly exhibition doubles then took place between Kees, Bella, Vix and James while the rest of us tucked into a delightful lunch prepared by Martin which included CHOCOLATE CAKE!! Annie deftly avoided the wine at lunch and played an epic against Richard, coming back in the second set from 5-1 down to take the set and the match 6-5, 6-5.
With the jet lag starting to set in, I finally made it onto the court against the tricky serves of Peter. Despite a comeback in the second set, the late hour and the chocolate cake saw Peter triumph in the third set 6-3, 2-6, 6-4. We would like to thank Hatfield for hosting us especially Martin, James and Jon.
Annie staging an epic comeback against Richard
Amanda
CURTC Host The Dutch
CURTC, 5 – 2, The Dutch
Andreas & Charlie
Erik & Rogier vs JT & Julian and Florentine
*’finest’ ?? Ed
Neil Stutchbury’s Racquethon
Some of you may know I am running the London Marathon in April for Diabetes UK. I chose this charity because my son is Type 1 and he inspires me with the way he maintains his glucose levels while playing racquet sports (squash mainly) at a high level. So to raise awareness I thought I would do a “racquetathon” whereby I will try to stay on court for six hours and play as many people as possible, mostly doubles I hope! I have booked six courts (permitting doubles) from 9:30am-2:30pm on Saturday 14 January and I would really love it if you were to sign up for more than one court if you can! I hope each of the pros will join in too. I will provide cakes, sandwiches, refreshments etc to keep you all going. Normal court fees will apply and these will go onto your account as per usual, There is no extra donation required to take part, though obviously if you would like to donate then you can go to my Just Giving page and make a donation there: www.justgiving.com/fundraising/Neil-Stutchbury I really hope you can play.
Neil Stutchbury
Stop Press: only a few slots left!!
Bookings for Neil’s Racquethon on Sat, Jan 14th.
Congratulations Rob Fahey, MBE!!
from all of us here at the Home of Real Tennis
Christmas Tournament 2016
Robert Doe & Ginny Myer, CURTC’s 2016 Xmas Tournament Finalists
At the knock out semifinal stage Virginia (Ginny) Myer showed her excellent strokes and consistency to defeat the much-fancied Kate Mason (returning to Grange Road after a 10 year absence). Richard Bowers and Gillian Moore have done well in this tournament before; this year it was Richard’s turn to progress through to the semis. Tony Kennedy could not overcome Kate Kirk, even though Kate was hampered by her husband’s marking and Robert Doe continued to play extremely powerfully to beat Karen Pearce.
Ginny’s accuracy allowed her to beat the tenacious Richard Bowers in their match and Kate Kirk came so very close, but again Robert Doe’s strength won out (6-5).
In the final, there was nothing between the players. Robert served sidewall serves to great effect, with Ginny needing to volley the return of service, which she did with accuracy into the corners. Ginny served underarm twists to which Robert replied with forces at the dedans and at the mainwall. There were many excellent rests made more fascinating by the contrasting styles of the finalists. At 3-all Robert was able to steady his game, overcome his unforced errors and take the final three games and the Championship (6-3)…. The day ended with the Senior Professional taking the photo of the finalists above.
Kees
Jingle Bingle Update
There was a crash on the roof, some shuffling around the chimney and a few expletives drowned out by Cody’s barking. Eventually it subsided but then the door bell rang which set Cody off again. Warily opening it, I saw three recognizable shapes lurking in our front garden. Rudolph (for it was he) had that self satisfied look that those with red noses so often have and was prancing about doing some recognizable impersonations of a forehand (he switches the racket Lyons style to avoid the complications of a backhand). He proffered me a thumbdrive and gestured with a shrug of the antlers at Donner & Blitzen who seemed far more interested in the vegetation than demonstrating correct positioning for a return of serve. He muttered (as those with red noses are prone to mutter) that he would be busy for a few days but back in touch looking for a game in the New Year. I asked about his handicap, but was met with the reply that surely the other 8 and the big guy were handicap enough. Living in a neghbourhood where chatting with reindeer attracts funny looks even at this time of year, I promised I’d put his handicap into RTO and work out the odds for our game. Wishing them seasons greetings, I retrieved the dog and opened up the thumbdrive….
Congratulations, Mike, Anthony & Gillian, you are the ‘Leaders of the Pack’ in the early going of the 2017 JB!
The Jingle Bingle is coming…
Jingle Bingle tracking spreadsheets
You will receive an e-mail* telling which of the three ‘Packs’**, headed by Rudolph, Donner & Blitzen, you are in. Please play frequently and often against members of your and other Packs (Singles or Doubles). Santa’s IT elf assures us the scoring system is so simple Santa himself could use it. The set-up is in the Blue Court Dedans. All you need to do is highlight your name and click on ‘WIN’ or ‘Lose/Draw’ as appropriate. No need to enter the actual score. This is all for fun and the IT elves have promised us the beta version of the software just as soon as they have finished some deliveries in a couple of weeks. (We told them to use Amazon’s new drones but they insist that Santa is somehow better ‘suited’)
* Instructions and background to the Jingle Bingle included with the e-mail
** OK, for you pedants, we are quite aware that reindeer come in ‘herds’, not ‘packs’. But then nobody has had a hit with a song called ‘Leader of the Herd’, so Vrrrmmm, Vrrrmmm…
*** Talking of ‘Leaders of the Pack’ when the Jingle Bingle closes on January 17th 2017 (unless R, D & B decide otherwise) the three LotP will be recognised with valuable prizes when frankly just a mention on the Club’s website would more than satisfy yours truly.
ps If the scoring system is by some remote chance non-operational, please write the name of the two (or four) players and highlight the winner(s) on the back-up ‘sheet of paper’
For each player, Click on your Pack tab, Highlight your name (Find box may help), Click on WIN or Lose/Draw
Cambridge vs MCC*, Pol Roger Trophy, 11/12/16
Click on the times/links below to take you to the corresponding part of the video.
Highlights include the 2nd set of the 2nd Doubles (listen for the banging on the Clubroom window towards the end…) and the 3rd Set of the 1st Doubles starting with Charlie’s 2nd Set winning shot….
2nd Doubles: 12:15 Start, 31:30 2nd Set, 1:09:40 3rd Set
1st Singles: 1:55:05 Start, 2:14:37 2nd Set
2nd Singles: 2:47:29 Start, 3:09:51 2nd Set
3rd Singles: 3:51:15 Start, 4:16:25 2nd Set, 4:51:00 3rd Set
1st Doubles: 5:31:10 Start, 5:50:47 2nd Set, 6:11:45 3rd Set
Results:
2nd Doubles: Matt Shaw & Ed Pearson bt Alexis Hombrecher & Jolyon Symonds 2/6 6/5 6/2
1st Singles: Ed Kay bt William Maltby 6/1 6/2
2nd Singles: Jamie Giddins bt Horatio Cary 6/1 6/4
3rd Singles: Alex Evans bt Mark Howard 6/4 4/6 6/3
1st Doubles: Duncan Colquhoun & Charlie D’Oyly bt Mark Mathias & Neil Roxburgh 2/6 6/1 6/5
* a.k.a. the Home of Real Tennis vs the Home of Cricket
ps The flaming streamers will be back for the visit of Petworth on Sunday, January 29th in the semi-final of the Pol Roger Trophy.
Match report from the real MCC v CURTC match, Saturday 10th December 2016 at Lord’s Cricket Ground
CURTC opened well when Gary Weller won against MCC match manager Tom Carew Hunt. The match went the full distance (one set all, 5 games all, 40-all) and then Gary defended a short chase to perfection. The next match almost went the same way. CURTC match manager Keith Beechener & Julian Stafford led in all three sets but at one set all and 5 games all Keith Beechener mis-judged his defence of a short chase and the notorious Lord’s low bounce gave MCC (Paul Cattermull & Robert Kilgour) their first victory. David Pimblett & Nick Heath succumbed to Brian Woodbridge & Jonathan Cundy, and this was followed by a further defeat when Gerald Smith & Howard Mason were beaten by Peter Brunner & Robert Kilgour to give the MCC a winning 3-1 lead with only one match to play. The final match saw the Davidson brothers (Jeremy for CURTC and Nick for the MCC) facing each other for family pride. Jeremy D, with the assistance of Keith Beechener, took the family title in straight sets against Nick D & Mark Wilcox.
Many thanks to MCC for their hospitality and congratulations on a deserved 3-2 win.
Keith Beechener
2016 Pol Roger Inter-University Tournament
The 2016 Pol Roger Inter-University Tournament saw a gathering of Men’s and Women’s student real tennis players from across the country at the Cambridge University Real Tennis Club (the home of Real Tennis at Grange Road) and, for those brave enough to venture there, the Newmarket and Suffolk Real Tennis Club.
Representatives were present from St Andrews to Exeter University including a lone wolf from Oxford. There were early (and in some cases, very painful) starts at Newmarket, rumours of a winning gallery competition within the Middlesex camp, too many photos to count and some splendid tennis played across four days.
The Handicap singles saw 61 students take to the court and Cambridge’s Keeler Mears, Amanda Murphy and Matt Shaw topped their groups and made it into the round of sixteen. Precision and killer spin then took Matt Shaw into the Handicap Singles Semi-Final where he played splendidly to beat Charlie Drew 6-1. The other Semi-Final saw an all Durham affair, where Oliver Taylor (a.k.a. Bandit 1) took on Matt Brooks (a.k.a. Bandit 2). Taylor came out on top 6-4, and nobody was left in any doubt that both of these players would have much lower handicaps come next year! In the final, Taylor defeated Shaw 8-3 playing a handicap difference of 35, highlights of which can be found on the “CURTC Fixtures” YouTube channel!
Semi-Finalists from left, Charlie Drew (Durham)-
Oliver Taylor (Durham) – Champion, Matt Shaw (Cambridge) – Matt Brooks (Durham)
The Pol Roger Champagne Reception and Dinner was a great event, held at the nearby Robinson College. Pol Roger Champagne and a three course dinner was enjoyed by all. Some of the more serious athletes continued the festivities in one of the local ‘training’ establishments, meaning there were some sore muscles (heads) for finals day.
The Pol Roger Inter-University Cup saw teams from Durham, Exeter, Middlesex, Newcastle, St Andrews, London and Birmingham and Cambridge (including the Cambridge women’s team) battle it out in both singles and doubles. Both the first and second CURTC teams made it through to the Semi-Finals beating teams from Newcastle, St Andrews, Durham and Exeter. Despite the attempts of Jimmy Campbell to provide an epic Saturday night for the London and Birmingham (HS2) team, Robert Shenkman and Charlie Braham arrived at the courts on Sunday and had the measure of the second CURTC team in the Semi-Final, defeating Campbell and Shaw three matches to love.
The final was streamed live (and can also be found on the CURTC Fixtures YouTube channel) where the HS2 duo took on the Cambridge first team of Kay and Giddins. Kay took the first rubber 8-7, saving match points along the way, against Braham, while Shenkman continued his good form against Giddins winning 8-5. The doubles deciding rubber provided tennis of the highest quality, team HS2 fighting back from 7-5 down to take the match 8-7 and the trophy.
Inter University Cup Winners – Team HS2 Rob Shenkman & Charlie Braham
The weekend was enjoyed immensely by all that attended, and thanks must go to all of the pros for organising one of the biggest tournaments in Real Tennis.
Over 70 people attended the Pol Roger Dinner at Robinson College
Cambridge vs MCC, Pol Roger Trophy, Sunday, December 11th @11am
The next outing for the stream team! If you can’t make it to the Club to support the our Pol Roger squad, follow along from the comfort of your own armchair/desk/bed or wherever you happen to be….
Inter-Uni Wrap-up, part 2
Congratulations to Team HS2, Rob Shenkman, Birmingham & Charlie Braham, London, Winners of the 2016 Inter-Universities Cup. Rob & Charlie won the deciding Doubles 8-7, saving a match point along the way.
CURTC President, George Pearson offers some ‘Congratulations and Thanks’ following the Final.
More from Freddy Adam/T&RA
A Grand Finale
Congratulations to all the participants in this weekend’s Inter-Universities Tournament. It was truly great to see such enthusiasm on (and off) court…
The Finals of the Handicap and Team Cup are available via Youtube.
Meanwhile here are the worthy finalists of the Handicap Tournament
from left, Charlie Drew (Durham) – Semifinalist, Oliver Taylor (Durham) – Champion, Matt Shaw (Cambridge) – Finalist, Matt Brooks (Durham) – Semifinalist
Semi 1: Shaw def Drew (6-3)
Semi 2: Taylor def Brooks (6-4)
Final: Taylor def Shaw (8-3)
Inter-Universities Tournament, Finals
We are taking a short break and will be back for the Inter-Uni Cup Final at 2pm
Ed Kay (Cambridge) vs Charlie Braham (London: HS2 Uni)
Jamie/Alex (Cambridge) vs Rob Shenkman (Birmingham: HS2 Uni)
then Doubles!
Cambridge vs Leamington, Live Stream with Commentary
CURTC is grateful for the support of our Sponsors…
 |
…and Supporter!
 |
Giraffe Club: CURTC Alumni
You Told Us….