Half Term Tennis Camp – What a Week! 🎾
We had a fantastic two days at our Half Term Camp, with 20 children taking part in an action-packed programme…
In the men’s singles final, Sussex born Tommy Bennett – a Junior Wimbledon and
US college player – faced New Zealander Mark Hadley, already the winner of many
Rye titles. The match saw some powerful play and fierce rallying from both sides,
with Bennett coming through to triumph on this occasion, depriving Hadley of
another singles crown.
The two met each other again in the men’s doubles final, as Hurlingham player Josh
Redstone joined Hadley to take on Bennett and Campden Hill player Ryan
McElvenny from the USA. With some fearsome ground strokes and quick-fire net
play, Hadley and Redstone just gained the upper hand and took the closely
contested match, thus regaining their 2023 title.
In the ladies’ singles, Dutch player Jeltje Loomans was pitted against Ukrainian
Anastasiia Kotsyuba, both first-time visitors to Rye and both US college players. With
some powerful play from both sides, Loomans came through to win the match, which
started on the grass and finished on the artificial clay, thanks to the rain.
In the ladies’ doubles, Loomans teamed up with fellow US college player Hope
Johnson, a member of Queen’s First Team, taking on the Campden Hill pairing of
Ellie Hill and Kiran Irshad. After some hard hitting and tight rallies, Loomans once
again came out on top with Johnson at her side.
In the mixed doubles, singles winners Bennett and Loomans faced each other with
their respective partners, Campden Hill’s Veronika Hughes and Hurlingham’s Nick
Green. Playing on the artificial clay at the end of the day, Bennett was again the
winner, depriving Loomans of a third Open title (although she had already won the
Handicap Mixed Doubles with partner Maxwell Harrison).
The B groups and Handicap sections witnessed a high standard of play, with some
competitive matches and a win in the ladies’ singles for Rye LTC member Clare
Crawshay-Williams.
The tennis week continues with the Two Generation Tournament and Junior Tennis
Tournament followed by the members’ Closed Tournament and Invitation Mixed
Doubles over the weekend.
After ten days of tournaments at the Club, Hotshotz Tennis will be running multisport
children’s camps (tennis, padel, table tennis and squash) as well as a junior tennis
camp during August. Check out the Events page on the Rye LTC website
(https://ryelawntennisclub.org.uk/events/) or contact Hotshotz on
admin@hotshotztennis.co.uk or phone 07544 872723.
