Wow! What a fantastic summer of sport we’ve all enjoyed with Ipswich Town FC kicking off celebrations after a thrilling final match watched by many at Henley Road to gain promotion to the Premier League – swiftly followed by the Euros, Wimbledon of course and an epic display of multiple sports at the Paris Olympic Games with the inspirational Para-Olympics taking place right now.
Tennis action here at ISC has been non-stop too with some amazing performances at all levels – here’s a summary of what’s been happening:-
- Ipswich & District summer league
We’ve enjoyed another extremely competitive season of matches with local clubs resulting in ISC Ladies’ 1 and Mixed 1 teams being crowned champions again! A fantastic effort by all with both teams losing just the one match. A special mention goes to all the ISC Tennis Academy juniors that stepped up to the 1st and other teams this year – a huge thanks to them and all parents for their support in what can be a busy period with school exams and work/life commitments. Ladies’ 2 battled hard to secure a solid mid table spot in division 3 and next year will be joined by Ladies’ 3 who had a great season winning 6 out of 8 matches to top div 4 and gain promotion. Men’s 1 performed well to come runners up to Felixstowe in div 1 and will be joined next year by Men’s 2 who came runners up in div 2. Men’s div 3 has also had a tight ending to the season with our Men’s 3 team holding firm with the mid table slot. Our Mixed 2 team fought hard but struggled against mostly first teams in div 2 so will be relegated, whilst Mixed 3 performed well to take 2nd place in div 5 so gain promotion. Well done as always to all team captains for organising everyone, especially given the wet start to the season and to every player representing ISC – another successful and highly enjoyable summer season.
- Wimbledon
Another memorable fortnight in SW19 with the sad sight of Andy Murray’s final match on centre court – but what an amazing career he’s enjoyed winning 3 grand slam titles, 2 Olympic Singles Gold Medals plus a Davis Cup and his ‘never-give-up’ attitude inspiring so many of us on court over the years. The end of one era but excitingly the start of another with local lad Henry Patten winning the Men’s Doubles Championship with Finnish partner Harri Heliovaara. A thrilling final, which had us all on the edge of our seats cheering the boys on, it couldn’t have been closer with 3 tie-breaks and finally clinching the title by 2 points! Many of us have had the pleasure to witness Henry growing up and playing in local competitions such as Framlingham over the years so to witness him become Wimbledon champion was an absolute highlight of the year! Hopefully the first of many grand slam titles for him.
- Local competitions
ISC academy players have been putting all their hard work in coaching sessions during the year into practice at various comps around the region in the past few months from Cromer to Frinton. Well done to all those representing ISC – especially for adapting to the grass courts which can be challenging at times! There are literally too many great performances to mention them all (so apologies if we’ve missed anyone off the list), but a few highlights include:
- Bury & West Suffolk
- Natasha won both the Girl’s U16 & U18 titles
- Toby won the Men’s singles and doubles titles
- Alex won the U18 Boy’s title and U16 Boy’s doubles with partner Harry
- Harry S won U16 Boy’s title
- Ethan won U12 Boy’s doubles
- James & Harry S won U18 Boy’s doubles
- Framlingham
- James & Harry S won U14 Boy’s doubles
- Toby & Harry C won U16 Boy’s doubles
- Erin & Natasha won U18 Girl’s doubles
- Alana won U11 Girl’s singles
- Academy Coach Ryan & partner won 2 Men’s doubles titles (Open & Closed)
- Felixstowe
- James & Harry S won U14 Boy’s doubles
- Sam & Natasha won U16 Girl’s doubles
- Leo & partner won U16 Boy’s doubles
- Erin won U18 Girl’s doubles
- Other local comps
- Cromer: Ava won U10 Girl’s singles
- Connaught Club: Matthew won U14 Boy’s singles
- Frinton: Oliver & Freddie won U11 Boy’s doubles. Alana won U11 singles. Harry & James won U14 Boy’s Doubles
- Dunstable Tennis Club Summer Open: Oliver won U12 Boy’s singles
- Westcliff: Brendan & partner won U14 Boy’s Doubles
A very special mention goes to Erin & Grace who were runners up in the U18 Girl’s doubles final that took place on the amazing grass courts at Wimbledon a couple of weeks ago in the ‘Play your way to Wimbledon’ competition which involves players qualifying from every region in the UK. This result is a huge achievement so many congratulations to both of you!
Finally, huge congratulations also go to Alana and Ava who played in a Grade 1 competition in Nottingham recently which is for the top 24 players in the country for U10 Girls. Alana qualified from her group eventually finishing in the top 16 places and Ava did brilliantly to finish 19th. A top effort for 2 ISC academy players who are rapidly improving.
The fantastic results shown above are a testament to the dedicated tennis coaching team at ISC, lead by Tennis Manager Chris Daynes, who work tirelessly all the year round with the academy juniors on court and in the gym. There are many early morning and late night coaching sessions at ISC but it’s all worth it when players demonstrate their skill and determination on court. The future of tennis at ISC and in Suffolk looks very bright!
- Other tennis news
In early August ISC held a Pro-am tournament with some of our talented coaches captaining teams in a friendly competition whilst family and friends could try their skills at Padel, Pickleball, Table Tennis and a variety of fun games. Around 100 of us, from tiny tots to nonagenarians, had a very enjoyable day and lovely lunch.
Excitingly, at the end of October ISC is proud to be hosting its 3rd ITF Masters event which has Men’s, Ladies’ and Mixed categories for players aged over 30 and will involve participants from all over the world. Watch this space for more info and details of how to enter. Many ISC members and local club players have taken part previously with great success so don’t be shy in entering – it’s great fun and a great opportunity to challenge yourself against new players.
The tennis doesn’t stop thankfully with the US Open under way. Dan Evans had an inspirational come back in his 2nd round match against Khachanov where he was 4-0 and game point down in the 5th set but somehow managed to hang on and finally clinched it 6-4. A reminder that a match is never over til that final point is won! At 5 hours & 35 minutes this amazing battle broke the record to become the longest match in US open history. With Alcaraz and Djokovic now both out the Men’s draw has opened right up so hopefully Jack Draper can take advantage.
A quick shout out to the Tennis Committee, staff and volunteers at ISC who, with the Board and Council’s assistance, work tirelessly behind the scenes to plan tournaments and try their best to ensure events run smoothly.
Want to get involved?
We’ve got coaching and social tennis options to cater for all abilities – please take a look at our website and get in touch if you’d like to take part: ipswichsportsclub.co.uk
