March 15, 2026
Well they have been and gone but not before handing the CURTC a good beating on Saturday, January 5th. And it all started so well with Johnny Bailey prevailing on the Blue Court in three sets and it ended well with Bernie Carpenter winning also on the Blue Court.
Unfortunately we lost the intervening three matches and all five on the Green Court. Kate Kirk gets an honorable mention as she at least got to a match point in her favour as does John Trapp who won a set. I shall respect the other team members requests for anonymity in view of their most generous contributions.
In true British tradition, the Manager was sacked before he had a chance to resign and formal protests have been lodged about one of the Dutch players ‘trouser-ware’ although the Dutch have lodged a counter protest about Bernie’s socks. We have a gallery of pictures so you can make up your own minds as to the most grievous sartorial transgression. Fortunately, John saved the day with some splendid generosity in the form of more pints of Adnams than CURTC won games and superb hospitality for both teams chez Trapp in Swaffham Bulbeck. And as my wife noted, "It was nice that they were able to win having travelled so far".

From left: Marian von Koesveld, Rogier Botting, Erik Gunter, Richard Kasten, In purple: Feikje Nassy, William Daw, Andre Driessen, Cees de Bondt, From net: Emma Lord, Johnny Bailey, John Trapp, Right hand 4: Bernie Carpenter, ex-manager, Kate Kirk, Dave Isherwood
ps Interesting news from Holland. There is a serious effort underway to restore the sixteenth century Tennis Court in Haarlem (60km north of Den Haag). However, there is a tight deadline on raising the necessary funds so nothing is certain yet.
Author’s name withheld by request


* with apologies to Paul Revere
A long but highly successful day culminated in Richard Bowers (70) winning the Christmas Tournament final at 10.15pm, taking the match 6-5 against Emma Lord (67). The group stage started early in the morning, and 30 competitors each played two singles and two doubles matches over the day. Handicaps ranged from 25 to over 70, and a special mention must go to Andrew Petrie (25) for competing despite massive handicap adjustments in favour of his opponents. In one match, a handicap difference of 42 meant his opponent received +30 while Andrew owed 30, had only 1 serve, was banned the tambour, banned chases worse than 3, banned hazard chases when playing off chases, and had to concede the service end after 1 chase!
Group winners went through to the knock-out stages, which produced semi-finalists Richard Bowers (70), David Hope (65), Emma Lord (67) and Charles Rowland-Jones (70). Richard and Emma won through to contest the final, which went to 5-5 and was eventually won by Richard at 10.15pm.
Many thanks to John Trapp for organising such a great day of tennis.
The CURTC National League Div 5 team of Jimmy Campbell, Oli Watson and Matt Barr took on the MCC on Sunday December 8th, coming through in a decisive 3-0. Jimmy and Matt won in straight sets against Ronald Paterson and Christopher Hopton of MCC 6/3 6/2 and 6/3 6/3 respectively, while it took Oli three sets to dispose of his opponent Simon Martin, 6/3 3/6 6/4. A good time for Watson to score his first win in a year. Jules, Captain of the Varsity Men’s team this year, scored the matches.
A veritable cohort of CURTC members headed off to Lord’s on December 8th, taking the day 5-1.
Full results:
+ Terry Gardner (65) and Pat Humphrey (63) beat Robert Rhodes (55.2) and Phil Devlin (49) 6/3 6/5
+ Dave Isherwood (62) and Robin Faux (59) beat Peter Brunner (59.8) and Clive Picton (53) 6/1 6/2
+ Peter Morrison (54) and Gerald Smith (48) beat Stuart Glyn (50) and Iain Harvey (50.8) 6/1 6/1
+ Keith Beechener (44) and Jeremy Davidson (51) beat Nick Carew Hunt (47.4) and Peter Ashton (50) 6/5 6/5
(Jeremy Davidson stepped in for an extra game when one of our team failed to turn up: they thought it was Sunday!)
+ John Firth (34) and Jimmy Campbell (29) lost to Isabelle Duncan (39.8) and Paul Brown (37.2) 3/6 6/2 4/6 (our own Paul Brown was playing for MCC).
+ Jeremy Davidson (51) and Rory Davidson (36) beat Nick Abelson (51) and Nick Davidson (41.6) 6/5 5/6 6/5
(three family members on court: Jeremy’s brother Nick playing for MCC)
Scott Blaber and James Watson scored a decisive win against Queens, with straight sets victories in both singles matches and an 8-6 win in the doubles.
The next match for the intrepid pair will be on January 19th, away at Petworth. The next home match will be on January 25th, against MCC. Check the court bookings for the times and come along to watch some exciting tennis.
In what had already been a very busy weekend (see previous updates), Cambridge hosted RTC on Sunday December 2. Ten senior members took on the visitors, and eventually triumphed 9-7.
The CURTC team was made up of Ian Barkshire, Keith Beechener (match manager), David Hope, Christie Marrian, Charles D’Oyley, Andrew Petrie, David Pimblett, Gerald Smith, Paddy Ward and Gary Weller. This stalwart bunch faced Oliver Buckley, Tom Carew Hunt, Tim Church, Simon Edmond (match manager), Peter Flood, Robert Frost, Stephen Goss, Virginia Myer and Owen Saunders from RTC.
CURTC hosted Oxford for an inter-club match on Saturday December 1st. Cambridge was represented by Smuts Beyers, Linda Fairbrother, Kate Kirk (match manager), Dominick McOmish and Dominic Simpson. The results seesawed between Cambridge and Oxford, levelling off at 2-2. In the last game of the fixture, Kate Kirk defeated her opponent 3 and 0 to seal the win for Cambridge.
The CURTC team of Scott Blaber and James Watson notched up a win against Petworth on Friday November 30th. Our boys took two straight sets singles wins and cleaned up in the doubles, winning the fixture 3-0.
Ladies’ Morning runs every Friday from 10am to 12pm. A social game of tennis






A stunning effort in sweltering heat which saw each of the three rubbers be clinched by Hazard When Wet in the third set last night.
Ian McGonigal took the first set for Hazard When Wet, possibly by taking advantage of the extra Hazard When Wet obstacle: a towel on court designed to catch the torrential rain finding its way through the roof – some on-the-spot rule additions from Peter our scorer meant it was a hazard chase if the ball hit it. Ian and Stuart Laing naturally spent some effort trying to do exactly that. Ian then went downhill in the second as Stuart pulled out a fantastic 6-1 but Ian managed to pull it back from this drubbing to win the third, despite the fact that his face looked like it was about to explode from the effort in the heat.
Ed Fairbrother took the floor against Christie Marrian with a huge uphill handicap difference to climb. Entirely self inflicted – Ed shouldn’t have won so many matches since the start of the league’s season! Calmly and with his typical enviably attractive playing style he plugged away, dragging himself from his owe-30 start to take each game, one by one. Christie pulled back valiantly in the second set but Ed denied him in the third.
So, aware of the pressure to clinch the all-important final game if Hazard When Wet were to challenge for the league, Tom Hartley took to the court against Anthony Dean. By now the court was positively humming; as warm as the oven which was warming up for some fabulous pizzas from Ed our chef. The first set seemed to come comfortably to Tom but, as seemed to be the theme for the night, it all came apart for Hazard When Wet in the second which Anthony took 6-3.
So, it was all down to a clincher third set. Nerves were getting frayed, shirts were dripping with, erm, exhaustion, and tiredness from the heat began to play into the match with double faults and increasing shots into the net. Tom held on to take the third, and
the match
By claiming the maximum 7 points, and denying Nomads, current Division 3 league leaders, any further points, Hazard When Wet are now just four points from the front, giving them a chance to take the Division 3 trophy. Their captain, Tom, looks set to commission a self congratulatory quintuplet of trophies for his team if they go on to win!
Tom Hartley
The Seventh Cambridge Weekend will take place on the 12th and 13th May 2012. It will again be an ideal occasion for members to enjoy some very competitive tennis, and for supporters of Cambridge University Tennis and University Alumni to renew and strengthen their connection with the Club. There will be a handicap doubles tournament played on the Saturday, and on the Sunday morning there will be some friendly doubles with impromptu pairings. For those who have already expressed interest please can you fill out the entry form and send it back with cheques made payable to CURTC.
After the very successful dinner last year held in Queens, this year’s event will be in The Old Kitchens in Trinity and promises to be another thoroughly enjoyable evening. The Dinner will be held on Saturday 12th May and be part of the very popular Cambridge Weekend. We hope to hold the price for the dinner (including wine) to around £40 – more details to follow soon. Maximum capacity is just 75 so early booking with the pros is advised.
<h3>National League Semi Final at CURTC May 16</h3>
CURTC 1, our Premier League team, with David Woodman and Andrew Fowler, has progressed to the semi final and will play The Dedanists(Ben Matthews and Chris Chapman).
The semi will take place at Cambridge on Wednesday 16th May, 6:00p.m. start. Tickets will be at the usual prices – £10 for Dedans or upstairs in the sponsors’ room, or £5 for standing in the galleries. Please email to reserve a place.
CURTC 2 (Scott and James Watson) will play their last match of the season tomorrow, 27th April, against Hatfield, 18:00 start. Your support will be most appreciated.
STOP PRESS – Scott is injured so the up and coming star, Ed Kay will partner James. We need to win to have a home semi final.
The Ladies Tournament took place on Saturday the 3rd of March and was won by Linda Fairbrother.
Semi-finals:
Linda Fairbrother bt Louise Ludekens 8/2
Alex Bryant bt Sonja Badenhorst 8/2
Final:
Linda Fairbrother bt Alex Bryant 6/4 6/4
In another exciting weekend of very well contested matches, Oxford managed to overcome our Men’s team 4-2 and our Ladies’ team 5-1.
Each of our players should take pride in the level of their performances and I know the packed dedans or friends, family, Cambridge Committee and officials from MCC took great delight in the player’s competitive spirit and their sportsmanship.
MEN
2nd doubles: J Camp & O Watson v J Beale & M Jackson 0-6, 1-6, 1-6
1st doubles: J Watson & E Kay v S Roach & A Evans 6-0, 6-4, 6-5
4 singles: E Kay v J Beale 2-6, 3-6
3 singles: O Watson v M Jackson 3-6, 2-6
2 singles: J Camp v A Evans 2-6, 5-6
1 singles: J Watson v S Roach 6-4, 4-6, 6-4
OXFORD WON 4-2
WOMEN
2nd doubles: L Browning & K Kirk v V Ormerod & Ormsby 6-1, 5-6, 1-6
1st doubles: E Samia-Aly & E Brady v Henderson-Tew & S Dannreuther 5-6, 2-6
4 singles: K Kirk v S Dannreuther 0-6, 1-6
3 singles: E Brady v C Ormsby 0-6, 2-6
2 singles: E Samia-Aly v M Henderson-Tew 5-6, 6-4, 6-4
1 singles: L Browning v V Ormerod 4-6, 2-6
OXFORD WON 5-1
After Ben Graham fell to Nigel Parslow and Philippe Nemery fell to Keith Beechener in the semi-finals, the 40-49 handicap tournament was won by Nigel Parslow, beating Keith Beechener 6-2
| Category 40-49 Tournament Results | ||
| Group A | ||
| Gary Weller | 4-4 | Ben Graham |
| John Lees | 2-8 | David Pimblett |
| Gary Weller | 6-4 | John Lees |
| Ben Graham | 7-3 | David Pimblett |
| Gary Weller | 2-7 | David Pimblett |
| Ben Graham | 5-4 | John Lees |
| Group B | ||
| Louise Ludekens | 2-10 | Nigel Parslow |
| Jeremy Fairbrother | 6-1 | Christie Marrian |
| Nigel Parslow | 6-2 | Jeremy Fairbrother |
| Christie Marrian | 1-7 | Louise Ludekens |
| Louise Ludekens | 6-4 | Jeremy Fairbrother |
| Nigel Parslow | 9-1 | Christie Marrian |
| Group C | ||
| Linda Fairbrother | 5-3 | Steve O’Rahilly |
| Philippe Nemery | 7-1 | Jeremy Davidson |
| Linda Fairbrother | 2-7 | Philippe Nemery |
| Steve O’Rahilly | 8-1 | Jeremy Davidson |
| Linda Fairbrother | 4-5 | Jeremy Davidson |
| Steve O’Rahilly | 4-6 | Philippe Nemery |
| Group D | ||
| Keith Beechener | 7-3 | Gerald Smith |
| Nigel Playford | 9-4 | Lucie Browning |
| Nigel Playford | 5-3 | Gerald Smith |
| Keith Beechener | 6-5 | Lucie Browning |
| Keith Beechener | 9-0 | Nigel Playford |
| Gerald Smith | 5-5 | Lucie Browning |
| Semi Finals | ||
| Ben Graham | 5-6 | Nigel Parslow |
| Philippe Nemery | 1-6 | Keith Beechener |
| Final | ||
| Nigel Parslow | 6-2 | Keith Beechener |
In a rare excursion for real tennis players, CURTC were invited to send a team to play at the Royal Tennis Court, Hampton Court Palace on Sunday 4th December 2011.
A team of six with handicaps ranging from 35 to 62 represented CURTC, each playing two rubbers of one set each (singles and doubles, first to 8 games). Each rubber was well matched by the Royal Tennis Court (RTC) team with all games played off Level or ‘owe half 15’.
In the first rubber the experienced John Howard and inexperienced Keith Beechener (match manager) won 8-5 to get the match off to a great start. Gerald Smith took both of his matches (singles and then doubles with Pat Humphrey) to 7-7 only to see the final game go the way of the opponents. These were a both a victory for the handicap system and either team could have won both of these. CURTC fell further behind with two more losses – Keith Beechener managing to lose 6-8 after leading 6-4 and taking the next two games to 40-40, then Tome Hartley paired with John Howard losing 5-8 after showing good early form. CURTC were 1-4 behind with three rubbers to play.
It is worth mentioning at this point that the hosts at RTC provided a superb lunch with a homemade butternut squash soup and assortment of cold meats, salad and cheese plus of course a selection of appropriate refreshing beverages.
The CURTC revival was led by the ever-dependable Gary Weller who shot to a 6-0 lead before graciously allowing his opponent some brief hope and then finishing him off at 8-2. Tom Hartley traded a few games to 3-3 with his opponent before spotting a flaw in the RTC man’s defence and then proceeded to reel off the games to take the rubber 8-4. The final rubber saw Pat Humphrey join Gary Weller to take on two fresh opponents from RTC. Once again CURTC showed no mercy and took the set 8-2 to demonstrate their overall dominance and achieve a 4-4 draw for both clubs.
An enjoyable match overall and it was played in a friendly atmosphere at the oldest surviving real tennis court in England (its last extension refurbishment was in 1628).
Keith Beechener
A total of 35 students from 8 Universities participated in the tournament, which was hosted by the Cambridge University Real Tennis Club for the 4th successive year. There were two tournaments running in parallel, an Individual Handicap competition and a level Inter-University Cup (IUC); in which teams played two singles and one doubles in each round.
In the Individual Handicap semi-finals James Thomas (Cambridge) raised his game to beat an exhausted Tom Lewis (Bristol) 6-2. In the 2nd semi, Tom Playford (Cambridge) won a close encounter with Charlie Marlow-Thomas (Durham) 6-4. James proved too solid an opponent for Tom in the final and took the match 8-4.
In the IUC competition, Oxford produced a clinical display to win both singles matches 10-0 in their semi-final against Middlesex. Although, in the doubles, the Middlesex pair was far more comfortable, using their lawn tennis background to full advantage. The Oxford pair’s experience was again the difference and they progressed to the final.
Cambridge and Bristol shared the singles matches in the other half of the draw with Oli Watson (Cambridge) defeating Ian Finlayson ()Bristol) 10-3 and Tom Lewis causing Cambridge to be concerned by defeating Jules Camp (10-4). James Watson strengthened the Cambridge team in the doubles, by combining well with Camp, to defeat the Bristol pair and set up an Oxbridge grudge match in the final.
The first singles match between Jules Camp (Cambridge) and Alex Evans (Oxford) turned out to be the match of the weekend, with Jules winning 10-6 and taking revenge for his defeat in the Varsity match the previous year. The 1st string singles was between Simon Roach (Oxford) and James Watson (Cambridge), and after some close early exchanges, James came through 10-5. The doubles was a closely fought match in which Cambridge led at the beginning, only to see Oxford claw back and get to 7-games first. Then James Watson justified his superior ranking by leading the Cambridge team to save a match point and later to eventually win the doubles 8/7. Cambridge won 3 matches to nil.
Particular mention goes to Tom Lewis, who competed in the tournament for his 4th and final time and to the Oxford Brookes and the Royal Veterinary College teams who made their debuts in the competition. This year Scott Blaber, the Cambridge Assistant Professional, took a leadership role in organising the event which all players agreed was extremely enjoyable. In the speeches at the Saturday dinner the Cambridge team of pros and Sue Ecob (catering) were thanked. Special mention went to Simon Marshall for establishing the weekend to what it is now; a key T&RA event, through his seven years of dedication to this task. Gratitude was also expressed for the continued sponsorship by Pol Roger, Incognito and Polistas and the support from the T&RA, all making major contributions to the success of the event.
On Sunday 20th November a team from CURTC traveled to Lord’s to play the MCC in the second round of the 2011/12 Brodie Cup. All 5 matches were keenly fought and when skipper Gerald Smith and Keith Beechener won the first set of the first rubber (45 handicap doubles) there were great expectations of a result in our favour. However a change of tactics by the MCC pairing saw a change of fortunes and the rubber was taken to 3 sets and won by the home team.
Roger East and Nic Rhode (30 and 40 handicap singles respectively) each fought tense encounters and despite early promise yet again the home side edged two more victories to secure the tie. Gary Weller then took the 50 handicap singles in two straight sets to recover some pride for CURTC.
In the final rubber (35 handicap doubles) Julian Stafford and Jimmy Campbell fought hard and deserved to narrow the deficit but eventually succumbed to the dominant MCC. The only ashes brought back from Lord’s Cricket Ground were the remains of CURTC’s hopes of progressing in the Brodie Cup. The experience will only make the team stronger and we aim to be more competitive next year.

The Champagne Leagues are sponsored by Pol Roger, real tennis’s favourite champagne house:

Division 1 won by James Thomas, 8-6, Mark Evans runner up
| Gerald Smith Fri 16:40 Jules Camp |
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| Gerald Smith Sat 10:20 Rob Brady |
Rob Brady
Sat 12:20 James Thomas |
James Thomas
Final Sat 15:00 Mark Evans |
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| James Thomas Fri 19:20 Robin Faux |
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| Mark Evans Fri 16:40 Nick Chrimes |
Mark Evans
Sat 12:20 Nic Rhode |
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| Alex Clarke Sat 10:20 Nic Rhode |
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| Rory Davidson Fri 16:00 Nic Rhode |
Division 2 won by Tom Hartley, 8-6, Nigel Belbin runner up
| Mark Palmer Fri 20:00 Christie Marrian |
Christie Marrian
Sat 11:40 Tom Hartley |
Tom Hartley
Final Sat 14:10 Nigel Belbin |
| Dave Isherwood Fri 16:00 Tom Hartley |
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| Nigel Belbin Fri 18:40 Jeremy Davidson |
Nigel Belbin
Sat 11:40 Sonja Badenhorst |
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| Guy Kirk Sat 9:00 Sonja Badenhorst |
Division 3 won by Dominic Simpson, Ashley Courtney runner up
| Dominic Simpson Fri 19:20 Anthony Dean |
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| Dominic Simpson Sat 9:40 Peter Morrison |
Dominic Simpson
Sat 11:00 Bernie Carpenter |
Dominic Simpson
Final Sat 13:30 Ashley Courtney |
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| Kate Kirk Sat 9:00 Bernie Carpenter |
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| Peter Joy Fri 16:40 Anthony Bailey |
Anthony Bailey
Sat 11:00 Ashley Courtney |
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| Smuts Beyers Sat 9:40 Ashley Courtney |
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| Tom Playford Fri 17:20 Ashley Courtney |
In this year’s championships, hosted at the Queen’s Club, CURTC were represented by:
Whilst Robert and Dominic benefited greatly from the experience of competing at this magnificent venue, they were unable to progress to the final stages in their respective age groups.
The 10 year old, Tatham Harper, playing in the Under 12 event, progressed through to the final after competing in his group stage matches. He was required to play 100 games on the Friday and to defeat last years champion.
In the final, the rather exhausted Tatham met Nicholas Milton from the Hyde Club to whom he lost 8/2. Congratulations to Tatham for this great performance and also to Scott, his coach.
The annual club dinner was a great success, held as it was in the magnificent dining hall of Queen’s College. The food was fantastic, the wine perfectly chosen, the Harry-Potter-esque surroundings truly stunning. Even the speeches from the Professionals were good value. Here’s a photo of Peter giving his speech.
| Tour Fixtures and Results | CURTC |
| Prince’s Court, Washington | won 6-3 |
| winners of the Fowler-Hamilton Cup | |
| Racquets Club of Philadelphia, Philadelphia | won 6-3 |
| The Racquet and Tennis Club, New York | won 3-2 |
| The Tuxedo Club, Tuxedo Park | won 4-2 |
| National Tennis Club, Newport | won 9-3 |
| The Tennis and Racquet Club, Boston | won 4-1 |
Tourees: Ali Hakimi (Capt), James Watson, Ed Pearson, Jules Camp, Ed Granger, Lucie Browning
Tales of copious hospitality, constant merriment and club grandeur and tradition travelled far prompting a visit to the USA by an enthusiastic band of students from the Cambridge University Real Tennis Club. Except for Aiken, South Carolina, the other seven major clubs along the east coast of the USA were visited with a busy match schedule in the waiting.
A common theme on the tour was the impressive way in which the team took to each of the foreign courts as if they were playing at home. The added sharpness gained from the touring experience gave the team an extra edge. Excellent tennis from each of the touring members ensured a complete clean sweep winning all six of the tour fixtures against the American club opposition which also included adding more silverware to the CURTC trophy cabinet by winning the Fowler-Hamilton Cup at Prince’s Court, Washington. In between the competitive tennis we also managed to make a trip to the Georgian Court, Lakewood, part of the estate built and once owned by the famous Jay Gould.
Overall the trip was a fantastic experience both on and off the court. It was an excellent opportunity for all of our players to get more match experience and improve on different aspects of their game. We thank all of those from the USCTA as well as the club professionals and members for their enthusiasm in hosting us and willingness to organise so many enjoyable and competitive fixtures. We were looked after extremely well and made to feel most welcome at all times. We are also very grateful to Harrow Sports and the Cambridge University Giraffe Club fund for their generous sponsorship.
Ali Hakimi
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