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