December 18, 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
Jesmond Dene vs CURTC – Sept 28th
Four of Cambridge’s finest took to the A1 to get up to Newcastle to play Jesmond on Saturday 28th.
Dave Isherwood started off proceedings against Peter Scott and after a nip and tuck struggle pulled ahead at the end to record a 9-7 win and put CURTC one up.
Paul Brown then went a couple of games up against Gordon Reed but Gordon pulled the lead back and it was even steven at 3-3. Paul then put his foot down and pulled steadily ahead to run out a 10-5 winner. (We were playing 50 minutes or first to 10 games in a best of seven match.)
Dave Isherwood was then back on for his second game and looked done in at 8-4 down against Peter Nugent. Finding a second and possibly a third wind he fought back brilliantly to get to 9 all and force a decider which he won easily to put CURTC 3-0 up!
Alex Evans took a few games to get used to the court (it was his first time at Jesmond) and was soon 0-3 down to a solid Michael Raven. Once Alex settled down he played his part in a very good game and pulled 8-6 ahead. Michael then toughed it out to get to 8 all at the 50 minute mark and into a decider. At 8 all and 40 all Alex put a service return on the roof and it dropped invitingly on the last gallery line to give Michael a simple put away – which he put into the bottom of the net! So that gave CURTC an unassailable 4-0 lead and a referral to the Leamington spot fixing committee Jesmond’s Simon Parkin rushed into a 3-1 lead against Julian Stafford but from here on Julian rarely missed a shot and ran out a comfortable 9-3 winner to put CURTC 5-0 ahead.
Alex was then back on court for another game against Martin Kellaway, this one with a 9 point handicap difference. The opening games were shared before Alex pulled out a comfortable 5-2 lead. Martin then fought back to 4-5 and then before you knew it, it was 6 all and into another decider. This time at 6 all and 40 all Alex at the service end drove an impeccable low backhand down the middle with plenty of cut and Martin could not get it up. So another close 7-6 win for Alex and CURTC into a heady 6-0 lead.
Julian and Paul then took on Mark Thompson and Alan Douglas in the final best of 3 set doubles. CURTC looking to a whitewash and Jesmond looking to restore some pride. The first set was very close with Jesmond shading it 6-5 but, making the wrong decision to change receivers for the second, set Paul and Julian lost rhythm and the set 6-1, giving Jesmond a consolation win but CURTC the match 6-1 overall.
Our thanks to Jesmond for for their sportsmanship and hospitality and for the opportunity to play on this wonderful court.
CURTC’s team at Jesmond Dene
 Dave Isherwood v Peter Scott |
 Paul Brown v Gordon Reed |
 Dave Isherwood v Peter Nugent |
 Alex Evans v Michael Raven |
 Julian Stafford v Simon Parkin |
 Alex Evans v Martin Kellaway |
Junior Lessons
Head Professional Kees Ludekens runs sessions on Sunday mornings for junior players to learn the game or to improve their skill levels
Junior lessons in the art of Real Tennis: Backhand
Junior drill: hitting it off the back wall
National League Division 4 Final, June 4th 2013
At a rather odd time of Tuesday at 11am, the Division 4 National League final took place at Cambridge against MURTC. Cambridge had faced their opponents in the group stage and came out on top, but historic results should never be relied on!
First up was Cambridge’s Ed Kay, at number two singles against MURTC’s Mark Rayner. Ed certainly started the stronger, chasing down everything Mark could throw at him and took a quick first set 6/0. Ed continued in a similar manner at the start of the second gaining a 3/1 lead before Mark started hitting back with his own perfectly executed shots that helped guide MURTC to their place in the final, and levelled the set at 3/3. But Ed responded and stamped his authority as he closed out the match 6/3.
Next up the number one string match between old rivals Alex Evans and Leon Smart. Leon got the better of Alex in their last meeting but now there was glassware at stake. But it was Leon who looked to repeat the result as he attacked everything loose and, coupled with Alex’s uncharacteristic errors, won the first set 6/1. The second looked like a carbon copy of the first up to Leon leading 5/1 but suddenly Alex found his range. A couple of inches here and there and it was now Leon who missed targets and Alex who put the ball away. Game by game Alex dug his way into the set, and credit must be given to him for believing he could come back as he fought back to 5/5. Alex at the service end looked favourite but Leon gained the serve instantly. However Alex’s returns found the length they needed to: he won the set 6/5! Drama! Leon knew he had to win the match to keep the tie alive and looked to have it in the bag at 5/1 but into s third set they went. Alex certainly had the momentum and continued in a similar manner to build a 3/1 lead. Leon, now slightly calmer than he had been a few games ago, reverted to a forcing game which gained him crucial points and mixed this in with a more classical game on the floor to get back to 3/3. Momentum swings were obvious in this match and Leon continued mixing it up, and while Alex was playing as well as he did in the latter half of the second set, it was Leon who powered through to take it 6/3.
It all rested on the final, third string singles. Cambridge’s captain Jules Camp took on Nic James. They had met before a few years back, but both had clearly improved since then. The first set really could have gone either way, most games getting to deuce. At 4/2 up, Nic looked like he had enough to close the set out, but Jules hit back, starting to find the grille down the main wall more often and went into a 5/4 lead. Both players clearly had the mindset of gaining the service end as quickly as possible and dominating from there; Nic’s fizzing backhand return certainly did the most damage as he got to 5/5 but with Jules at the service end, a couple of grilles and an error from Nic presented the first set point which Jules took. Game on! The second set started much like the end of the first, both players looking to gain a chase as early as possible from the receiving end. Games were shared up to 3/3 and although Nic had a chance to take the crucial 7th Jules hit a timely nick to force deuce and then the game. This seemed to be the turning point in the set as Jules was now spending much more time at the service end and, able to read Nic’s return better, stayed solid to win the set 6/3; more importantly the title of Division 4! Certainly a well fought final, and many thanks to MURTC for their part in it.
Many thanks to Peter for marking all the matches in the final, and to the dedans for their support. Thanks and credit must also be given to the other members of Cambridge’s Division 4 side this season, Andrew Petrie and Freddie Kalfayan, who both gained crucial wins in the group stages to ensure Cambridge had a home final.
Final result: Cambridge 2 – 1 MURTC
Alex Evans lost to Leon Smart 1/6 6/5 3/6
Ed Kay bt Mark Rayner 6/0 6/3
Jules Camp bt Nic James 6/5 6/3
Alex Evans, Peter Paterson, Leon Smart, Jules Camp, Nic James, Mark Rayner
Cambridge Weekend, 11th and 12th May 2013
Thrills, spills, a visit to A&E and dinner
The Cambridge weekend saw 36 players battling it out in the Handicap Doubles tournament, and a cracking final to this year’s Graduate Cup. Four groups in Division 2 started at 8.00 am, and by the afternoon had been whittled down to two semi-finals, Richard Bowers & Smuts Beyers against Emily Brady & Kate Kirk, and Barny Couch & Virginia Meyer against Bernie Carpenter & John Bailey. One player was lost to an injured ankle along the way, but luckily X-rays revealed nothing serious. In the semi-finals, Richard and Smuts took their match 8-5, and Barny and Virginia won through 8-3. The final went to Barny and Virginia 8-4.
The Division 1 final pitted Keith Beechener & Gerald Smith against Jules Camp & Ed Kay. Plenty of exciting tennis, but the Varsity pair were too strong for Keith and Gerald, and despite facing 30 owe 40, won through in 8-5.
Saturday afternoon also saw the final of this year’s Graduate Cup, between Bernie Carpenter and Ray Spencer. Bernie looked to be getting away with it, but Ray stuck in and took the match to 7-7. A tense final game went to 30-30, then Bernie pulled his socks up and took the next two points to clinch the title.
Sixty people then enjoyed dinner in the famous Cambridge Union Society debating chamber. Trophies, bottles of wine and applause greeted the winners, there was a special mention for the Blue Ball pub in Grantchester, the source of a batch of new players, and eventually we all trundled happily off into the night.
Division 1 Finalists
Division 2 Finalists
Petworth House Real Tennis Club visits
Petworth visited on Saturday, April 27th (2013) for some keenly fought tennis. Petworth’s team are definitely in the ‘senior’ category with one over 80 and two nearly 80, although this year the team included two relatively junior players one of whom has only just retired. This gave the match manager a few more headaches than usual in terms of player matching for the Doubles heavy format. The Pros were their usual help and included several cautionary tales in their pre-team selection briefing.
The CURTC team of seasoned (I prefer that term to senior) tennis aficionados proved up to the task and ended up 4-1 winners. Our ad-hoc Doubles teams involving Bernie (Graduate cup finalist) Carpenter, Eric (Green Court, please) Nutter, John (I do remember your father) Howard and myself were well prepared by pre warm-up introductions and proved to be too strong for our opponents especially on the Green Court.
On the Blue Court we were gracious enough to let our visitors win the first set as I had the excruciating experience of being made to look utterly inept by the over 80’s precision returns into my forehand corner. Aided by a tactical shift (John served from the other side to give my backhand an outing), we nonetheless scraped home in the 3rd set. Two Singles matches followed the first of which must have tested the patience of all concerned especially the long suffering marker, Peter.
We were approaching one hour over schedule as the match relentlessly ground on to the seemingly inevitable 5-5 in the 3rd set although I did have to save several match points en-route. By this time Guy (two courts) Kirk had decamped to the Green Court to start playing his Singles. Back on the Blue Court, the score, of course, reached 40 all but I was on serve.. It was not one of my better serves, my opponent went for the Dedans, I got the sweet spot of my racket behind the ball but unfortunately it was too sweet and the ball arced into the roof..
Guy returned to the Blue Court to give a convincing demonstration of winning tennis to complete a straight sets, two court, victory.
Christie Marrian
Petworth House RTC: David Bevan-Thomas, Tom Plant, Martin Paterson, Oliver Harris plus Ian Lambert (in shower)
Four men go to Manchester
Jimmy Campbell led a four-man crew off to his home town of Manchester last weekend, April 12/13 2013. The first match on Friday night was an epic show-down between Jimmy and Jules Camp, which ended up going Jimmy’s way, despite him losing the second set 1-6. Jules was apparently feeling slightly under the weather after travelling to Basel to be disappointed by his football team. Camp pulled himself together for Saturday, however, and earned a good victory against Mark Seymour-Mead 6-4 6-3
Alastair Kwan was up next and decided to play off level against a young Robert Shenkman, whose handicap was 4 points better than him at 26. The first set involved some quality tennis and Kwan just managed to overcome his tenacious opponent 6-5. This broke young Shenkers resolve and Kwan raced through the second 6-0 to seal an impressive victory.
Jimmy then took to the court for a long awaited grudge match against Andrew Mossford. Andrew has recently had some injury problems, meaning he couldn’t give his all on the court and in his own words, ‘probably went for way more balls than I should have done.’ He still put up some good resistance and after 1 hour 15 mins of a real battle, Jimmy managed to come through 6-2 6-3.
Lucas Birrell-Gray was up last against 34 handicap Graham Heap. Another one who fancied a challenge, they decided to play 15 owe 15, meaning Lucas was playing off an effective handicap much lower than the 50 he is on paper. Lucas produced his best ever tennis, looking very assured and solid on court to come through 6-5 6-3.
A thoroughly enjoyable weekend with some great victories. Only let down was the boys bailing on going to the pub in favour of watching the golf!!!
Jules and Jimmy in Manchester
CURTC beat the freeze in Leamington
On Saturday 23rd March, a team of 5 braved the snow and adverse weather reports to make the trek across country to Leamington Spa. It was worth it. As expected the hospitality was warm (although the heating wasn’t working) and a splendid lunch was laid on.
On the sporting front the match started well for Leamington when William Todd took a tight match against Gerald Smith. Christie Marrian pulled things back for Cambridge with a straight sets win over newcomer Kevin Higgins. Spectators were treated to some pre-lunch entertainment when James Levy took the match against Keith Beechener and gave Leamington the lead once again. After lunch Peter Morrison and Robin Faux ensured a victory for Cambridge with wins against John Yarnall and Adam Stokes respectively. All 5 matches were straight sets wins, Cambridge taking the tie 3-2.
Home Comforts at Leamington Spa
Keith Beechener
20-29 Tournament sees students on top
March 24th, 2013
After the first three rubbers in this year’s 20-29 tournament all ended with the same score, 8-6, the organiser feared the championship would go down to a ‘rock/paper/scissors’ shoot out. The match between William Russell and Andrew Petrie went to the radically different score of 8-7, and contained so much power hitting that Real Tennis may yet qualify as an ‘extreme sport’. In the end the event went the way of the handicapper, with Alex Evans beating Jimmy Campbell 8-4 in the final match and securing the only unbeaten record.
Results were:
William Russell 6-8 Alex Evans
Jimmy Campbell 8-6 Andrew Petrie
William Russell 6-8 Jimmy Campbell
Alex Evans 8-4 Andrew Petrie
William Russell 7-8 Andrew Petrie
Alex Evans 8-4 Jimmy Campbell
Winner: Alex Evans
Last year’s winner William Russell hands on the trophy to the new champion, Alex Evans
Category 20-29 tournament: Alex, Andrew Petrie, Jimmy Campbell, WilliamCURTC take on RTC in National League Division 6
A Div 6 team of Alastair Kwan, Julian Stafford and Tom Marriott took on Nicola Doble, Jon East and Fraser Shorey of RTC last weekend, and triumphed 3-0. Two of the matches were straight sets wins, Alastair 6-0 6-1 and Tom 6-1 6-4, Julian lost his first set but took the next two to ensure a Cambridge clean sweep.
Jon East RTC, Julian Stafford
National League Division 4 at Hampton Court
Cambridge took its Division 4 team to the surroundings of Hampton Court for their latest National League fixture. At this time in the season it is important to pick up as many wins and points as possible as the semi finals loom large in the next month and, with this team in a strong position, it was important to take a victory to move up the group table.
First up Jimmy Campbell, himself playing in Division 5 as well, was standing in for CURTC’s Div 4 team in this fixture and he justified his selection. Taking on David Blizzard, Jimmy lost the opening couple of games but once he started serving to better length and reading David’s return of serve better the match soon levelled up and Jimmy pushed on to take the opening set 6/3. Despite his own vocal disapproval for the way he was playing (Jimmy has a tendency to think he is playing badly if he doesn’t smash grilles and dedans like a certain Mr Fahey…) the match never really looked in doubt as he certainly started moving around the court better and won the match with a 6/3 6/2 scoreline.
Next up was captain Jules Camp, still with an outside chance of claiming the division’s MVP award. This was clearly in mind as he stormed the first set 6/2 with a more aggressive approach than usual, but it paid dividends as he then claimed game after game to race into a 5/1 lead in the second. A moment of concentration lapse meant he lost the next game, despite having match point, but made no mistake at the second time of asking, closing it out 6/2 6/2. The overall match was won but every singles counts for points so the last match was by no means a dead rubber.
Finally Andrew Petrie, in his second match of the season for this team, took to the court against RTC’s Simon Edmond, who was also a stand in. Andrew’s aggressive style of play worked well early on, but a few too many errors meant Simon was able to claim the first set 6/3. The second was a different story, as Andrew started hitting the ball with more accuracy and for a run of 3 or 4 games everything came out of the middle of his strings as sweetly as it could. Unfortunately at 5/5 in the set Andrew missed dedans on important points and Simon won the game and match 6/3 6/5 to get Hampton on the board. We are always hosted well by RTC, and enjoy the delightful cooking of David Blizzard very much – many thanks to him for looking after us!
Alastair Kwan takes 30-39 Trophy
The CURTC 30-39 Category Tournament was played on Sunday 17th March 2013.
Two keenly contested groups fought it out for semi-final places. In one group Alastair Kwan dropped only 2 games in winning all three of his matches while Julian Stafford, Paul Brown and Gary Weller won a match apiece. The second semi-final place was claimed by Julian Stafford who won most games overall in his three matches.
In the second group John Firth took the top spot by winning all three of his matches. The runner-up was decided in the final group game where James Thomas beat Paddy Ward.
The semi-finals were both taken by a score of 6-1: Alastair Kwan against James Thomas, and Julian Stafford against John Firth.
In the final, Julian Stafford took the first game but then fell 1-4 behind. He took one more game but the superior play of Alastair Kwan took the set, match and tournament by 6-2, despite some thrilling rests that could have gone either way.
Category 30-39 finalists: Alastair Kwan, Julian Stafford
Cambridge win the 2013 Field Trophy
This year’s Field Trophy final was held at Moreton Morrell. The Jesmond team cunningly travelled the night before and managed to get a couple of hours of practice on the Moreton court in the morning, but this didn’t help them in the first match of the day, which went to CURTC’s second string doubles pair of Jules Camp and Ed Kay 6/1 6/0. Ed played some incredible volleys at the net and Jules mopped up everything that sprayed around behind him.
The first string singles followed, and Alex Evans had the longest, closest and most tense match of the day. In the first set there was nothing to separate him and his opponent and the opening game lasted ten minutes. Jesmond’s Charlie Harries-Jones eventually took the set 6/5, but Alex dominated from the service end in the second set, serving railroads long and tight against the wall to stop Charlie chipping galleries and taking the set 6/0. The third set, however, mirrored the first, with both players now covering the court very well and picking up everything out of the corners, forcing their opponent to play that extra shot. Charlie managed to get in front as Alex missed targets at the vital moments and, at 5 all, the match had the finish it deserved. Alex then broke a string (definitely not what you need at such a crucial time!) and had to use an unfamiliar racket; he saved two match points, but couldn’t save the third as Charlie took the last set 6/5 and claimed the match for Jesmond.
The second string singles went our way, as Ed Pearson, a former student at Cambridge, always looked to be in control, cutting the ball off and putting away his volleys. This aggressive style worked very well as he got CURTC back in front with a 6/0 6/2 win. The last singles of the day saw Jimmy Campbell, making his debut in this competition, take on Michael Raven with virtually no handicap difference on paper. Michael started strongly, going 3/0 up very quickly, and while Jimmy started to play his cut shots to better effect, Michael showed his strength in the corners and closed the set 6/2. Jimmy started the second well and looked like he might force the match into a third set at 4/4, but Michael won a long 9th game and took the last, 6/4. With the match score at 2/2, it was the grandstand finish the gathering crowd wanted and the trophy would go to the victors in the first string doubles.
On paper, CURTC’s Duncan Colquhoun and Andrew Petrie looked the stronger, and they started out well, but the pair from Jesmond were not prepared to give anything away. Duncan and Andrew’s aggressive style had mixed success, working well when they kept the ball low, but they were punished if they peppered the penthouse. The set eventually went Cambridge’s way 6/4. Duncan and Andrew then rushed into a 5/1 lead in the second set, but Jesmond hit back, point by point, claiming the next 4 games to take the match to 5 all. Cambridge’s captain, Jules Camp, was said to be looking very tense and pale at this point, driven by his side’s inability to wrap it up, but thankfully Duncan’s experience shone through as his best returns of the match came at the right time and put pressure on the Jesmond pair; after gaining the serve, Cambridge closed out a tight set 6/5 to win the title.
Many thanks to all who participated, Moreton for their excellent hospitality, the pros Tom and Mark for marking, Pol Roger for their continued support of the tournament and all those in the crowd who made the atmosphere reflect the quality of the match.
Field Trophy Winners 2013
Varsity Seconds 2013
The Varsity Seconds match was played over two days at CURTC this year. The Cambridge men provided a masterclass in dispatching the opposition, winning all their matches in straight sets and only conceding 18 games in total over the six matches. Ed Kay, Oli Watson, Jimmy Campbell and Alastair Kwan played confidently and never let the Dark Blues get the upper hand.
It was a different story for the ladies’ team of Helen West, enetia D’Arcy, Ameera Patel and Catherine Sweatt. Their handicap disadvantage and lack of match experience showed, but they all put up a strong fight, and the 0-6 final score in Oxford’s favour did not reflect some very close matches, a lot of deuces and great determination. The closeness of the play bodes well for next year.
Jimmy Campbell in the Varsity Seconds match
Ameera Patel in the Varsity Seconds match
National League Division 4 v Moreton Morrell
As we near the end of the National League season, teams are looking to secure their place in the semi final and final. A win for the CURTC Division 4 team against Moreton would guarantee a spot in at least the semis, but every point is crucial if the team is to make it through to the final directly, with home court advantage.
The first match on was the number two string singles with captain Jules Camp taking on Moreton’s Tom Bomford. Tom was the victor when these two met previously fixture at Moreton, so revenge was in the air, and Jules raced away with the first set 6/0! The second started in the same manner, with Jules grabbing a 4/1 lead early on, but then he got cramp in his hand (perhaps due to a change in style – Jules was going for many more main wall dedans than usual because they were working well) and he lost the second set 6/5. But the fight was still on and, despite having to resort to serving bobbles, Jules kept going for the attacking shots and closed out the match 6/4 in the last set.
Andrew Petrie was up, next facing Lloyd Pettiford, who is very familiar with the Cambridge Green court. Initially, games were won in turn by each player, but Andrew brought his ‘A-game’ and punished anything loose, rarely hitting the penthouse, and won the first set 6/4. The second was a set of two halves; Lloyd started stronger, racing into a 4/1 lead. The next couple of games were shared and at 5/2 it looked like a third set was on the cards. However Andrew dug deep and clawed his way back into the set. At 5/5 it really could have gone either way, but a couple of volley dedans and attacking nicks from Andrew saw him finish his great comeback and take the match 6/4 6/5.
The final, first string singles saw a rivalry that has developed over recent times and will no doubt continue, as CURTC’s Alex Evans took on Moreton’s captain Tom Lewis (another Moreton player used to the Cambridge courts, having played here in several Inter-University Tournaments). The head-to-head record was in favour of Tom, but with only one handicap point between them, it was always going to be close. The first set saw a very aggressive game from both players, Alex finding the corners of the dedans with accurate forces and Tom’s volley return limiting Alex’s advantage at the service end, but it was Tom who won more of the big points to take a 5/3 lead. But Alex wasn’t giving in and kept getting the ball back until he had a chance to hit a winner. Inevitably, the first set went to 5/5 and deuce, and it was impossible to call who would win the set. Alex kept the faith and sneaked it 6/5. The second was a completely different story; quality tennis but Tom seemed to win all the big points and raced to 6/0. Alex came back hard in the final set, keeping up the pressure and extracting more and more errors from Tom, finally coming through 6/2.
This 3/0 whitewash of Moreton guarantees Cambridge a spot in at least the semi finals, and with one more match to go there is every chance of topping the group and being rewarded with a straight final spot and home court advantage. Watch this space!
Gary Weller wins 40-49 Category
The 40-49 category tournament was played on the weekend of 23rd and 24th February 2013. In the first group Jon Dawson powered his way through to take the first semi-final place with Keith Beechener clinging to faint hopes of best runner-up. In the second group David Pimblett took the honours with a clean sweep but things didn’t go the way of the handicapper in a couple of matches – Christie Marrian (winner of the 50-59 tournament the previous weekend) returned victories over Glenn Nicholls and John Trapp. In the final group Mark Perriton, the man in black, swept everyone aside in winning the group. Gary Weller took the runner-up spot and won a play-off to enter the seni-finals.
Gary seemed to have used up all his resources when he quickly fell behind 0-5 in the first semi-final against David Pimblett, but he took the match 6-5 and became our first finalist. In the second semi-final Jon Dawson and Mark Perriton fought the battle of the squash giants, frequently trying to out-boast each other. Mark Perriton took the match 6-3 but six of the nine games had been taken to 40-all.
Mark Perriton and Gary Weller in the final. Both had battled their way through four sets of tennis in the day and Gary had suffered a defeat against Mark in their Group match. In addition Gary had to contest a play-off and a tough semi-final which nearly saw him off. Despite all this Gary took early control of the final and eased into an early 2-0 lead. They traded games for a while and Mark pulled level at 4-4. Gary then stepped up a gear and took the next two to win the match 6-4 and take the tournament title.
2013 category 40 handicap tournament finalists: Mark Perriton, Gary Weller
Keith Beechener
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