What a night at Ipswich Sports Club – **all 10 courts packed ‘til after 9pm**! That’s the kind of tennis fever we love. There was laughter, drama, and some surprisingly decent lobs. Plus a few rogue serves that nearly needed passports.
It was brilliant to see **so many of you trying one of my competitions for the first time** – thanks for diving in and embracing the chaos (and yes, we’re ironing out those little teething problems!). Apologies to those whose emails didn’t get through — I’ve added a second address below just in case. If you send me a quick “hello,” I’ll reply and make sure you’re added to my list, so we know the lines of communication are open at least.
🎉 Big congrats to our final three ace-makers:
- Wayne Peberdy – already secured his spot and proving hard to deuce!
- Nicky Pinner – keeping her cool and pinning down the wins like a pro Nickying 2nd place .
- James Long – took the long road but smashed it on Tuesday to grab that final spot
They’ll battle it out in the **Grand Final on Sunday, June 8th**, there are 30 qualified so far its shaping up to be a big event with big prizes and eternal bragging rights. The full list of qualifiers is below.
So close you could smell the strawberries and cream! Shoutout to Kenneth Dyrby– our top-performing first-timer! He played some fantastic tennis, went unbeaten all night, and narrowly missed the podium, finishing with a very impressive 65% and 4th place. 🙌
Huge kudos also to Anne Sheldon, Anna Brown, Tip Flory, and Louise Woods – all played brilliantly and were just a whisker away from qualification.
### 💥 Still Time to Qualify!
Missed out so far? Fear not! You can still book your spot in the final by playing in:
– **Any upcoming Sunday sessions**, that is every Sunday 10 am to 12:30 pm now until June 1st or – **Saturday 26th April’s special event 2pm to 4:30pm**.
Just email me at **chris@dearling.com** or **chrisdearling@mac.com** to get involved – the more the merrier.
Tennis is better with friends, forehands, and just a *touch* of competitiveness. Thanks again for making Tuesday night such a hit. What a bonus to have a drink afterwards with some great music courtesy of the open mic night in the bar.
Tuesday 8th April results
| Name | 1st Round | 2nd Round | 3rd Round | 4th Round | Total | Games played | Percentage |
| Wayne Peberdy | 7 | 6 | 7 | 4 | 24 | 32 | 75.00% |
| Nicky Pinner | 7 | 6 | 6 | 3 | 22 | 32 | 68.75% |
| James Long | 6 | 6 | 5 | 5 | 22 | 32 | 68.75% |
| Kenneth Dyrby | 6 | 4 | 7 | 4 | 21 | 32 | 65.63% |
| Anne Sheldon | 4 | 5 | 6 | 5 | 20 | 32 | 62.50% |
| Anna Brown | 7 | 2 | 7 | 4 | 20 | 32 | 62.50% |
| Tip Flory | 6 | 7 | 2 | 5 | 20 | 32 | 62.50% |
| Louise Woods | 6 | 7 | 2 | 4 | 19 | 32 | 59.38% |
| Henry Paez | 4 | 3 | 7 | 14 | 24 | 58.33% | |
| Michael Reding | 4 | 4 | 5 | 4 | 17 | 32 | 53.13% |
| Sarah Offord | 4 | 1 | 7 | 12 | 24 | 50.00% | |
| Sean Fitzpatrick | 7 | 2 | 2 | 5 | 16 | 32 | 50.00% |
| Chris Palmer | 4 | 2 | 7 | 3 | 16 | 32 | 50.00% |
| Chris Everton | 2 | 3 | 6 | 4 | 15 | 32 | 46.88% |
| John Klug | 4 | 5 | 1 | 5 | 15 | 32 | 46.88% |
| David Pinner | 4 | 5 | 1 | 4 | 14 | 32 | 43.75% |
| Ian Kersey | 4 | 6 | 1 | 3 | 14 | 32 | 43.75% |
| Ed Moore | 2 | 4 | 3 | 9 | 24 | 37.50% | |
| Chris Dearling | 5 | 1 | 3 | 9 | 24 | 37.50% | |
| Eloise Dearling | 1 | 6 | 1 | 3 | 11 | 32 | 34.38% |
| Dee Mulgrew | 2 | 2 | 2 | 5 | 11 | 32 | 34.38% |
| Rob Butler | 1 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 11 | 32 | 34.38% |
| Kiah Bouillaut | 1 | 1 | 6 | 8 | 24 | 33.33% | |
| Clare Dearling | 2 | 3 | 1 | 3 | 9 | 32 | 28.13% |
| Kirt | 1 | 1 | 8 | 12.50% |
| Club Players Road to Wimbledon, Final Sunday June 8th |
| 1st Prize Private Tennis Lesson, Tour and Lunch with Mark Petchey at Wimbledon |
| 2nd & 3rd Prize Weekend Coaching with Active Away £218 Value each |
| To Qualify for the final you have to finish in the first 3 in any of the heats listed below |
| 📅 **Every Sunday** | 10:00 AM – 12:30 PM last qualifying event June 1st 2025 |
| 🌙 **Tuesday, April 8th** | 7:00 PM – 9:30 PM |
| ☀️ **Saturday, April 26th** | 2:00 PM – 4:30 PM |
29 so far have Qualified for the final
| 1 | Peter Brown | 🎾🎾🎾 | 16 | Vera Gair | 🎾🎾🎾 |
| 2 | Dean Swift | 🎾🎾🎾 | 17 | David Pinner | 🎾🎾🎾 |
| 3 | Robert Gair | 🎾🎾🎾 | 18 | Wayne Peberdy | 🎾🎾🎾 |
| 4 | Clare Dearling | 🎾🎾🎾 | 19 | Chris Dearling | 🎾🎾🎾 |
| 5 | Dan Chapelle | 🎾🎾🎾 | 20 | Tip Flory | 🎾🎾🎾 |
| 6 | Mark Wooton | 🎾🎾🎾 | 21 | Tony Goodson | 🎾🎾🎾 |
| 7 | Hollie Newton | 🎾🎾🎾 | 22 | Dan Pipkin | 🎾🎾🎾 |
| 8 | Michelle Pipkin | 🎾🎾🎾 | 23 | John Quinton | 🎾🎾🎾 |
| 9 | Anne Sheldon | 🎾🎾🎾 | 24 | Steve Belton | 🎾🎾🎾 |
| 10 | Steve Rowntree | 🎾🎾🎾 | 25 | Michael Todd | 🎾🎾🎾 |
| 11 | Anna Brown | 🎾🎾🎾 | 26 | Chris Palmer | 🎾🎾🎾 |
| 12 | Michael Reding | 🎾🎾🎾 | 27 | Catherine Backhouse | 🎾🎾🎾 |
| 13 | Peter Aldous | 🎾🎾🎾 | 28 | James Long | 🎾🎾🎾 |
| 14 | Kevin Milner | 🎾🎾🎾 | 29 | Nicky Pinner | 🎾🎾🎾 |
| 15 | Andrew Turner | 🎾🎾🎾 | 30 | 🎾🎾🎾 |
